Since when did owning a cat become the social equivalent of wearing a fanny pack? It's seems that cats, and especially cat owners, have gotten bad rap for years.
If you're a guy with a cat, people tend to question your masculinity. If you're a woman with a cat, you sure as Hell better have a boyfriend, less you be labeled an eternal spinster and otherwise known, "cat-lady."
Perhaps we needs to take a closer look at the whole cat conundrum, and there's no better resource than Jackson Galaxy, a.k.a. Cat Daddy, the host of the hit show My Cat from Hell on Animal Planet.
Dismissing the whole notion of cat people vs. dog people, Galaxy argues that while one may make you feel like the center of the universe (dog) and the other may remind you that you're not (cat), at the end of the day they're both providing affection, establishing a connection, and leaving you turds to clean up -- it's a balance, really. In fact, he considers cats to be very Zen, "teaching you to be present yet detached."
In his new book, Cat Daddy, Galaxy deciphers the misunderstood behaviors of cats, helping pet owners to resolve the volatile relationships with their feline companions. And while you wait for him to arrive at Changing Hands to sign your very own copy tonight, here are just three signs you're definitely a cat person:
3. You own anything Hello Kitty That bitch is everywhere. Wielding the celebrity status of Barbie and My Little Pony, Hello Kitty's animated stardom quickly soared from Sanrio cast member to full blown religious figure. Her two dimensional face is on everything; from stickers to lunchboxes, clothing to ice cream. This kitten's not just for the kiddos, (see: Hello Kitty assault riffles, vibrators, and cocaine straws.) But hey, we're not here to judge.
2. You Dig Cat fashion The catwalk has taken on new meaning as feline fashion is becoming an ever-growing phenomenon, working its way into TV, conventions, and printed press.
While dogs have their fair share of adorable human torment, cats dressed in ridiculous costumes seems to evoke an even stronger reaction (somewhere between pity and hilarity). Perhaps it is the juxtaposition of the Raggedy Ann getup combined with the very visible loathing that gets us awing and groaning at the same time.
1. You've laughed at any rendition of the widespread meme, LOLCATS Maybe it's the spelling, our love of talking animals, or the plastics in our foods finally getting to us, but there's just something about an oversized cat cocking his head under the bolded caption "I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?," that causes us to start laughing, start clicking, and before we know it, we've spent thirty minutes surfing the web on a kitty caption bender.
Like any cult following you either get it, or you don't, and the ones who don't look at us like we are bat-shit crazy (and maybe we are). Lolcats can be found on mugs, shirts, mouse pads, and coffee table books, making people wonder, is this just a phase or does the madness have no end?
Galaxy is currently on tour with his book, Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love and Coming Clean, and is visiting Changing Hands Bookstore tonight for a book singing starting at 7pm. You can pre-purchase Cat Daddy online or in the store to get earlier access to the signing.
