who knew?
March 2, 2011 6:51 AM   Subscribe

 
first FPP - be gentle!
posted by xbonesgt at 6:51 AM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


A crazy cat person is anyone who has two more cats than I do.
posted by MrMoonPie at 6:58 AM on March 2, 2011 [6 favorites]


A quote from Discovery News on the Time link:
"Cats also seem to remember kindness and return the favors later."

Later being 4 in the morning, and it usually involves a toy on your face. *sleepily glares at my cat*
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 6:59 AM on March 2, 2011 [7 favorites]




Why were there significantly fewer males subjects than female? ( 30f, 10m). Were they specifically designing this to solidify the crazy cat lady trope? I would think they would want an even base, genderwise. I'm male and I'm totally crazypants about my cat.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 7:03 AM on March 2, 2011 [5 favorites]


Crazy cat ladies are not "human-cat dyads". They are "human-cat-cat-cat-cat-cat-cat-cat-cat-cat" dekads at least.

Also: toxoplasma gondii
posted by DU at 7:05 AM on March 2, 2011 [4 favorites]




I like cats. I'm single. Therefore, I'm a 'crazy cat lady'. Its really no more complicated than that.
posted by sandraregina at 7:22 AM on March 2, 2011


Those bringing up toxoplasmosis make a good point -- but the thrust of the article didn't seem to be about "why do people love cats" so much as it was about "do cats love people back."

And if you've had a cat, then you probably rolled your eyes at this and said, "well, duh."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:25 AM on March 2, 2011 [5 favorites]


I see all the jokes about how dogs have owners and cats have "staff"...then I see my neighbours shivering in the freezing cold while their canine looks for an attractive snow pile to paint yellow and I appreciate my cats' low maintenance attitude.
posted by dry white toast at 7:30 AM on March 2, 2011 [15 favorites]


Article by Metafilter's own maiasz
posted by PeterMcDermott at 7:31 AM on March 2, 2011


I was about to click through to the article when Mitzi, Dr. Licks and Omarion starting making noise in the other room. I went to go see what the matter was, and when I came back both sciencedirect and Time were blocked in my browser. This is pretty weird to think about, actually, but is it possible my cats ha---oh look they're cuddling with each other! SO CUTE!!
posted by Bromius at 7:31 AM on March 2, 2011 [3 favorites]


I like cats. I'm single. Therefore, I'm a 'crazy cat lady'. Its really no more complicated than that.

I will only be officially crazy when my husband is gone, but we had three at one point, so I'm considered proto-crazy even now. And nthing the "duh, cats love people back". We've been known to tell our cats they were going to get thrown out of the union for being so aggressively friendly.
posted by immlass at 7:31 AM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


That BBC video at the bottom of the Time post was awesome!
posted by TooFewShoes at 7:41 AM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


EmpressCallipygos: And if you've had a cat, then you probably rolled your eyes at this and said, "well, duh."

Yeah, seriously.

They definitely don't.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:46 AM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


Also: toxoplasma gondii

Yeah, exactly what I was thinking -- what if this is a mode where the toxoplasmosis is metaphorically breaking out the guns and tequila? This doesn't really seem to happen much with dogs or other pets.
posted by crapmatic at 7:50 AM on March 2, 2011


I'm male and I'm totally crazypants about my cat.

Yeah, but apparently your cat is just using you to get to your wife.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:51 AM on March 2, 2011 [9 favorites]


I am a lady(ish) with three cats, but one really belongs to my husband (and his lap), so I'm only 2/3 crazy.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 7:52 AM on March 2, 2011


Anyone who likes cats is a crazy cat person. The fact that they're pretty funny when you catch a photo of them in motion and then affix a comically misspelled phrase in yellow, all caps Impact is really no excuse for letting into your house a creature that is fundamentally a devil-spawned baby breath stealing machine that exists only to destroy anything you have left too close to a ledge, plots murder all day long, poisons your air with its poo and dander, performs ninja brain surgery on you with parasites, and is really just waiting to outlive you so it can dine on your remains.

Unless you have mice. Then they sort of make sense.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:00 AM on March 2, 2011 [9 favorites]


I'm loving the "Behavioural coding" section of the scientific article.
Cat feeding: Eats non-test food.
Ha.
Owner tactile interactions: Mutual nose sniff.
Yes!
Owner vocalisation: Pidgin duet with cat.
Meowmeow? Meowarr. Maaaarr! Mow? Mrar? Mrar. Mrarow. *purr* *awwww* *mutual nose sniff*

Cat playing - Play unspecified a
aModifier class 1: not visible: behaviour cannot be coded because cat is fully or partially invisible; unclear: behaviour element not clearly discernable; unspecified: behaviour not listed in configuration; cat interaction with observer: cat interacts with observer; test: novel object test or pickup test in progress.

My cat likes to amuse me by wriggling. "Behaviour not listed in configuration". :) I do also like the "behaviour cannot be coded because cat is fully or partially invisible". Cats playing around inside cardboard boxes, tents, pulling open closet doors to hide inside and swat at your ankles when you walk by, that sort of thing.
posted by fraula at 8:02 AM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


I like cats. I'm single. Therefore, I'm a 'crazy cat lady'.

Sorry, one cat won't do it, nor will two. If you are wild-eyed and have hair that stands on end, three will suffice. If you look like a "normal," you need at least ... five?

I have a couple of friends who had ... 8 at one time. There's no real equivalent: crazy cat couple?
posted by mrgrimm at 8:16 AM on March 2, 2011


I own three. My hair is coarse and curly and yes, can stand on end. Not sure about the wild-eyed bit, but I am an ugly, ugly woman, definately not 'normal'. So yeah. Crazy cat lady.
Of course, I don't really believe that my cats care about me as anything more than a pet and food dispenser. But I love 'em any way.
posted by sandraregina at 8:24 AM on March 2, 2011


Mrs MM was very clear when I insisted we get a cat on our move from apartment to house with garden.

On no account was the cat to come in the bedroom. If it did, it was not to come onto the bed. If it came onto the bed, it would not be on her side. If it came on her side, it was not to be either near her head or under the duvet.

For the first 3 nights we kept the cat shut in the spare bedroom while it got used to its new home. On the fourth night, we let the door open, and had placed a cat basket in a corner of the upstairs landing, just outside our bedroom. We didn't shut our bedroom door. The cat took one look at the cat basket and promptly lay down in it.

The next morning, Mrs MM woke to find the cat had curled up next to her head, was using her face as a pillow, and would not stop purring. It is like that every morning. Mrs MM insists she still does not like it one bit, but I have seen her go downstairs and look for the cat if she isn't curled up on the pillow by morning.

Mrs MM has now adjusted her position from being "not a cat person" to being "only really an our cat person."

I think she secretly fears being a cat lady.
posted by MuffinMan at 8:26 AM on March 2, 2011 [14 favorites]


If it came on her side, it was not to be either near her head or under the duvet.

My girlfriend has outlined very similar rules for me.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:34 AM on March 2, 2011 [10 favorites]


Anyone who likes cats is a crazy cat person.

Cats bury their poop in the sand. Dogs eat it. I rest my case.
posted by en forme de poire at 8:35 AM on March 2, 2011 [10 favorites]


I recommend Escape Pod's Schroedinger's Cat Lady.

I am surprised they do not seem to have a code for "Cat slept throughout the entire visit", or "Cat chitters at imaginary prey" or "Cat runs to recently flushed toilet, attacks whirlpool of doom".
posted by jeather at 8:42 AM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


The science behind crazy cat ladies.
first FPP - be gentle!


I will note that this sort of framing can get you into trouble around here. When I see the phraze "crazy cat lady" my first thought is those people (not a gender-specific disorder from what I can tell, so...you could find yourself getting ragged on for sexism) who have had 50 cats forcibly removed from their squalid shacks by the health dept, and I thought initially that this post would be about that type of hoarding disorder.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:42 AM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


Our dog is trying to become a cat person. Seriously, they've lived together for eight years, and just now the dog realized "hey, you look like fun!" regarding the cat.

Over the past few weeks, Every once in a while we'll here some scuffling and soft cries from our Cairn Terrier. When we look at what's going on, it's the cat sitting in a nonchalant pose -- not scared, not hostile, not even flipping her tail -- facing the dog. The dog is play-bowing and wagging her tail at the cat, and making a variety of vocal noises that she doesn't use for anything else. Every once in a while, the cat meows softly in response. They're within one body-length of each other, so it's not like they're keeping a safe distance, either. If either animal notices being watched, they both disengage and act like nothing was happening, and often they just move the 'conversation' to a different room.

Wifey, who is on the crazy-cat-lady spectrum, thinks this is a sign that the animals are plotting against us.
posted by AzraelBrown at 8:43 AM on March 2, 2011 [4 favorites]


That Single White Feline BBC comedy vid included in the Time article of the OP is sooo funny!
posted by nickyskye at 8:44 AM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


A new study demolishes the stereotype of cats as cold, aloof animals that want only food from their owners.

Only a cat would write this.
posted by londonmark at 8:47 AM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


crazy cat couple?
I'm in one of those. Nine cats.
posted by battleshipkropotkin at 9:13 AM on March 2, 2011


Sigh... We had 27 cats at one time, though 17 were barn cats. The 10 inside were a mixture of damaged, overly shy, or slightly mentally disturbed that would never have survived outdoors. Currently down to 6 indoors and 7 outdoors (life is rough if you have live wild and free).

Don't consider us the crazy cat couple, but I'm sure our Vet sometimes wonders.
posted by jgaiser at 9:22 AM on March 2, 2011


40 people isn't much of a data sample. There are more people in the average Metafilter thread.
posted by MegoSteve at 9:22 AM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


That list of cat vocalizations proves that our cat is exceptional. There's no listing for what he does: howling, like a husky. Or a two-cycle police siren. Or an unhappy human baby. His breath control fills me with jealousy. One of these days I'll take a recording.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 9:28 AM on March 2, 2011


This is Metafilter. Our threads are above average.
posted by 7segment at 9:31 AM on March 2, 2011


I had a male acquaintance--single, with 4 cats--and I asked him what the male equivalent of "crazy cat lady" was, in terms of pejoratives.

"Crazy cat lady," he replied.
posted by availablelight at 9:32 AM on March 2, 2011 [5 favorites]


My apartment contains an equal number of people and cats (3), so we're totally sane, okay?

OKAY?
posted by brundlefly at 9:32 AM on March 2, 2011


My grandmother watched my parents cat for a while when my parents were on vacation. Instead of having my grandmother go over to their house, my parents brought the cat to my grandmother's house. The cat was a long-haired Persian, house-trained and semi-social (not a lap cat, but a friendly cat).

When my parents came back, my grandmother said the cat was fine, except for one thing. It kept sitting on things. It was decided that my grandmother is not a cat person.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:44 AM on March 2, 2011 [3 favorites]


brundlefly: My apartment contains an equal number of people and cats (3), so we're totally sane, okay?

My house contained 3 cats and 3 people, but then a person moved out, so our ratio was off, and it was OK because the cats were fine sharing a lap. If you stretched out on a couch with a blanket, you could get a full cat trio.

But now we have five cats, two "on loan" from my parents-in-law, while they have a jolly old time traveling about. The two new cats are jerks who hate most things, except occasional petting, and then, not too much. I brought up giving away those two cats, in a period of high stress due to cat conflicts in the house. My wife said we had to keep them all. It turns out, I'm not 100% a cat person, but the cats have come to terms with each-other, except for the occasional epic battle (with fur literally flying, an additional cat mess to clean up).
posted by filthy light thief at 9:49 AM on March 2, 2011


Had six cats at one point. One of them would periodically try to do the nasty to my elbow. Just me. Just my elbow. And only my elbow.

So yeah, cats do love their owners sometimes. And the owners will probably wake up, have a small fit, and exile the cat to the hallway.
posted by Jilder at 10:07 AM on March 2, 2011


At one time, we were four people and five cats. Now we are three people and three cats, and we feel this ratio is not quite right - we need another cat. But one of the current cats is elderly and cranky with the other two cats, and we don't want to inflict anymore distress on her.
posted by rtha at 10:07 AM on March 2, 2011


Statistics are hard to find, but here are some statistics anyway.
posted by damo at 10:35 AM on March 2, 2011


One person, one furry assed heathen eunuch deadbeat roommate that not only won't get a job, but can't prepare his own meals.

Also, it's kind of nice to have something happy to see me when I get home from work. My computer is nowhere as affectionate.
posted by Samizdata at 10:38 AM on March 2, 2011


Digging deeper may not be so fun...
There are 1,863 cases currently listed with the abuse type(s) Hoarding...
posted by damo at 10:44 AM on March 2, 2011


If any of you people are cat-free and would like to try one, I have one yapping here. I can send it parcel post in a small box--prefer to send to someone at least three days away and, better* yet, overseas.

* Better for everyone, really.
posted by maxwelton at 10:51 AM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


I absolutely love the theory, creepy as it may be, that toxoplasmosis could be responsible for people's irrational behavior with regards to cats. In particular, it could be why cat owners I know can't stop talking about the cat-stuff their cats do like it's something unique and amazing. I get loving your pets, but it always seems like there's an extra layer of blind adoration when it comes to cats.

That said, I don't really see what's new in the research itself - it's basically just confirming that people get love and affection from their pets, isn't it?
posted by missix at 11:11 AM on March 2, 2011


In particular, it could be why cat owners I know can't stop talking about the cat-stuff their cats do like it's something unique and amazing.

I dunno. I've observed this phenomenon quite a lot with respect to babies. New parents aren't just fascinated by everything their baby does (up to and including bowel movements), they often seem to forget that other people aren't. It's one of the most disturbing things about parenthood, to my mind: this loss of empathy, or of the "theory of mind".

So cats, for some people, seem to just trigger the same response. You don't need mind-altering parasites to explain this -- although it's arguably an example of parasitism of a different kind.
posted by baf at 11:55 AM on March 2, 2011


I had toxoplasmosis, but I cured it with my brain.
posted by Crabby Appleton at 12:46 PM on March 2, 2011 [5 favorites]


"do cats love people back."

My Siamese cat likes to wait until I'm laying down in bed watching TV, and then she comes and sits on my chest so she can stare at me. This sounds sweet, and it was at first, but over the years, she has started moving closer and closer to my face, to the point of absurdity. I'm talking about sitting with a cat so close that our noses are literally a fraction of an inch apart.

I like to think that this is all done in love, but the fact that I've come to realize is that she's just observing my reactions to her weirdness for her report to the demonic alien cat masters that she answers to.
posted by quin at 2:32 PM on March 2, 2011 [9 favorites]


Cats Rule Everything Around Me (C.R.E.A.M.)
posted by Hey Dean Yeager! at 3:31 PM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


I am a lady(ish) with three cats, but one really belongs to my husband (and his lap), so I'm only 2/3 crazy.

You're sure about that. Right? There is absolutely no chance your husband belongs to the cat. Right?
posted by notreally at 3:37 PM on March 2, 2011


You know, I don't really like the whole "cats vs. dogs" thing, and how it's turned into a "women vs. men" thing.

I like cats, and dogs. I couldn't choose. Same with the husband.

You wanna what's cuter than a cat, being cute? A small cat, aggressively loving on a big dog.

I've had three human babies, and the small cat/big dog thing is the cutest shit I've ever seen in my life, and I get to see it almost every day. It makes me smile every.single.time.
posted by Leta at 5:40 PM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


There are not enough pictures of cats in this thread.
posted by Mizu at 6:52 PM on March 2, 2011


I get loving your pets, but it always seems like there's an extra layer of blind adoration when it comes to cats.

I am so much worse when it comes to my snakes. (Yeah, I'm a Crazy Cat-And-Snake Lady.) And I know they don't love me. But I do not care, because *I* love *them*. I also know that cats don't love in precisely the same way that humans do, sure, but living with reptiles makes it very clear that we mammals do have a lot of emotional responses in common. I consider what they do close enough to love that it counts. Especially my Firstborn Kitty Son. THAT cat loves me.

My male friend also describes himself as a Crazy Cat Lady. I don't think there is an equivalent masculine term. But his cats are awesome.
posted by Because at 10:52 PM on March 2, 2011


Mizu, here you go. As requested.
posted by you're a kitty! at 11:14 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


There are two adults and four cats in this household. I'd have more but the mister thinks we have two too many. Cat lady? Yes. Crazy? Well, that's debatable. But I can see me becoming a crazy cat lady should something happen to the mister, like falling into the cat food dish.
posted by deborah at 12:43 AM on March 3, 2011


Re: toxoplasmosis in humans:
...the personality of infected men showed lower superego strength (rule consciousness) and higher vigilance (factors G and L on Cattell's 16PF). Thus, the men were more likely to disregard rules and were more expedient, suspicious, jealous, and dogmatic. The personality of infected women, by contrast, showed higher warmth and higher superego strength (factors A and G on Cattell's 16PF), suggesting that they were more warm hearted, outgoing, conscientious, persistent, and moralistic. Both men and women had significantly higher apprehension (factor O) compared with the uninfected controls.
posted by en forme de poire at 7:49 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


I am a lady(ish) with three cats, but one really belongs to my husband (and his lap), so I'm only 2/3 crazy.

You're sure about that. Right? There is absolutely no chance your husband belongs to the cat. Right?


Only about 100%.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 1:08 PM on March 3, 2011


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