What Makes a Lady With Cats a "Cat Lady"?

Psychology Today ^ | 3/6/25 | Kaytee Gillis, LCSW

[DallasBiff]

"You must be a cat lady, Ms. Kaytee," the student said to me through laughter. I was working in a school, and had popped into one of the classrooms to assist with a project. This student who had just met me seconds ago assumed that I "must be" a cat lady.

Kids say the darnedest things, right?

Kids say the darnedest things, right?

At the time I laughed: I had one cat, yes, but would hardly call myself a "cat lady." I also had a guinea pig, after all. Maybe this was some new Gen-Z slang that I didn't understand? Maybe "cat lady" means "an adult who is super cool"? (One can only hope.)

Fast forward 5 years, and we just adopted a third cat over the weekend. As I sat on my couch with not just one, but three fur babies, I said to myself, "Kaytee. You're a cat lady."

---

TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: cats; dogs

[DallasBiff]

Well cat ladies are well known, I know of a male who has 11 cats. Only knew one cat in my lifetime so far who was like a dog, "mans best friend".

Flame away.

[Sirius Lee]

I sat on my couch with not just one, but three fur babies

The fact that she calls them "fur babies" is indicative of her cat lady status. That and the box wine.

[Magnum44]

[nitzy]

What Makes a Lady With Cats a "Cat Lady"

Toxoplasma gondii

[Openurmind]

There is actually a medical parasite issue that can cause it. And I have seen men get it too.

What is the Parasite that Makes You Love Cats? Toxoplamosis

https://practicalpie.com/what-is-the-parasite-that-makes-you-love-cats/

[1Old Pro]

Cat Lady = a woman who might have fewer human relationships or social connections, and who prefers spending time alone or with animals rather than in human social interactions. Because there’s an underlying assumption that people who are introverted might struggle with social anxiety or mental health issues, the term is often used to suggest that a woman who acquires multiple cats might do so out of a need for emotional support due to isolation or a lack of human connection.

[Openurmind]

“Toxoplasma gondii”

Yep, you just beat me to it...

[Nervous Tick]

Cat lady isn’t a problem.
CRAZY cat lady — that’s a problem.
Crazy PROGRESSIVE cat lady, that’s a serious problem!
(and Katy is spelled like that. Katy. Or Katie. “Kaytee” is like a flashing red Crazy Progressive Cat Lady warning light on the dashboard.)

[Pocketdoor]

Cat ladies have ten + cats. And they come out at 1,2, and 3am and call all of them really loud outside of your open window about 15’ away. Yes I lived next to one. Nice lady but my God.

[vpintheak]

LOL! Nailed it!

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

IMHO, Cat Lady is someone with a cat who puts the cats first in everything.

Does not matter if you have one cat or a clowder. If you turn down an invitation not because you don't want to go but because "Muffy is depressed" you are a Cat Lady.

[Red Badger]

[UnwashedPeasant]

As the household cat-to-person ratio rises above 10, the likelihood of flaming leftism approaches infinity.

[Hyman Roth]

Boxed wine?

[SaveFerris]

Lydia the Cat Lady

[ConservaTexan]

My partner refers to himself as a "cat dad"

Your partner is a fag.

[Fiji Hill]

Only knew one cat in my lifetime so far who was like a dog

Probably a Siamese cat.

[T.B. Yoits]

Toxoplasma gondii

...and the smell

[frank ballenger]

Long ago a psychology major said to me: “You should hear how disdainful the professors are toward that magazine. They see it like a tabloid.”

[skr]

One of our clients at the animal clinic was always bringing in cats she’d found. I have no idea how many healthy ones she had, but the ones we saw were usually in dire straits, but she would do whatever she could to save them. She even told us she lived in a house next door to the house where she kept the cats. I’m not sure she knew how many she had. I think she qualifies as an extreme cat lady.