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.

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."

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

[DallasBiff]

I'm a dog person, only met one nice cat in my life, who was more like a dog.

[mewzilla]

Here’s a hint...

https://ifunny.co/picture/you-have-enough-but-i-don-t-cats-have-these-du9r1B2zA

And I must admit, I resemble that remark.

[Romulus]

You need to be single, either divorced or never married, and over 35. A woman who’s married or a widow with children isn’t a cat lady.

[sauropod]

They’re endemic in my area (East Coast).

[mewzilla]

We’re not all loony lefties. 😸

[Vaquero]

[Dr. Sivana]

There is an exemption for those with sizeable acreages. If you have a half dozen cats, but 25 acres and they mostly feed themselves, you are not a cat lady, even if you like your kitties.

[T.B. Yoits]

From the article: This student who had just met me seconds ago assumed that I "must be" a cat lady.

He could smell it on you lady. He could also pick up the toxoplasma gondii mannerisms.

[fhayek]

One cat...

[mewzilla]

My dream job...

https://adage.com/video/eds-cat-herders-2/

[Wally_Kalbacken]

A. Mental illness.

[x]

One thing we learned this week. Cat gents and cat ladies aren't winners in the political game. Heed the lesson.

[Veto!]

When I lived in a house with a huge fenced yard, I had two cats amd a wpmderfi; Keeshond, “KeeshaSue the Gorgeous Goddess of Keeshonds”. Keesh for short.
The cats died, one by one after several years and when Keesh died, I couldn’t live there another minute without her.

Now in senior complex, one cat is enough. DaisyJane. “Daze”. Bitchy kitty bites me a lot. That’s allegedly a sign of love, but hurts anyway. Cats are weird but I couldn’t live without her.

[waterhill]

Met a cat lady without the cats once.

[mewzilla]

What have you got against Pres. Lincoln?! 🙀

[sauropod]

Yeah, my neighbor is a lefty with cats, and my wife (hard core conservative) has a soft spot for strays.

I don’t understand cats meself.

[ChildOfThe60s]

A (95% of the time) liberal spinster woman. 35 and over who has admitted defeat in the search to find a man that meets her unrealistic expectations and is willing to put up with her.

Cat lady is a stereotype. That’s how I define this stereotype.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

😆

[sauropod]

Always loved that ad.

[Veto!]

A beautiful black Feral cat, “Blackie”, lives in our senior complex. He has TWO daddies and I’m his mom, One of his dads built him a warm winter house that he loves, another feeds him and I feed him too.

Blackie and my cat, Daisy, are friends. When she got home from two days at the vet, she ran down to where he lives and friend saw them sitting together having a cat chat.. “Blackie, you won’t believe how awful thos humans called vets were to me”.