This is interesting - I once spoke to someone who said the crazy cat lady number was 10. Having been to quite a few houses with cats though, I can say that some people have multiple cats are their house is very clean. You wouldn't be able to tell there were cats. I've also been to houses where there have also been one or two cats, and it stinks. The worst cases are the hoarding cases - and honestly, I don't think it's a crazy 'cat' thing. Unfortunately in those cases, I think many of the people have other issues to deal with - the cats are just one component of the issues. They can (and often do) hoard many other things too.
Tidycat is having a contest to debunk the crazy cat lady stereotype - and high time too :) Here's the website that was referenced in the article. Unfortunately it's not open to residents outside of the US but it's certainly interesting nonetheless!
15 comments:
Singapore has its own stereotype: the Stray Cat Feeder.
That's a good point - is the Stray Cat Feeder stereotype the same as the Crazy Cat Lady? After all, I would venture the stereotypical 'CCLs' also care for cats.
CCL ;) That's crazy. A cat or cats complete own's dwelling place and transform it from house to home.
I've just hit 10, so i am promoted to a CCL now, hahaha! But most first-timers to my place think we only have 3 or 4 cats as the others are quite "invisible".
I think in general, the people who laugh about it, would not in my book be 'CCL'. People whom I've met who have been strange, did NOT have the welfare of cats as their paramount consideration.
I think the crazy cat lady stereotype is true to some extent, but is overused to mock people that it doesn't necessarily apply to.
Generally when someone is a legitimate crazy cat lady, they have a mental condition, their home is dirty, and they have problems with men.
Most women I've met who like cats keep clean homes, and don't have weird issues.
My wife and I have two cats. Our place is clean. I mean, you can often find a piece of litter hiding under something, but we clean regularly, and as far as I know neither she nor I are crazy.
Honestly I don't understand the problem most Singaporeans have with cats. Why is it dogs are allowed in HDBs but not cats? Especially when dogs are prone to be noisy and are more dangerous?
I think the stereotypical 'crazy cat lady' is usually a hoarder. It just so happens that they tend to be hoarding cats - it is a psychological disorder, and it could be newspapers, books, junk, whatever.
I have to clarify - I don't think most Singaporeans dislike cats. Most are indifferent but wouldn't want to see them killed. On the other hand, there are a small vocal minority who don't like cats. Some people also don't realise that their actions cause the cats to be killed - they think the cats will be removed and put in a nice shelter somewhere.
As for the HDB rule, it has never made sense. When we met with the HDB a few years ago, we were told it was a historical rule. All the proposals we sent in were rejected. The latest one that was refined to note the issues they had, they refused to even meet to discuss.
Funny. Owning slaves was a historical rule in the US.
Common sense prevailed on that as well. I hope that common sense will prevail when it comes to having cats in HDBs, without that sort of extreme though.
I'd much rather know a cat lived next door than have a dog barking all night long on the other side of the wall from where I was trying to rest.
Owning a cat is just like owning a dog. It's perfectly safe, perfectly normal, and perfectly ok as long as the pet owner is responsible.
That was ALL dealt with in our proposal, including even a registration system so that owners could show they had X number of cats and that they were sterilised. that way, enforcement could also be restricted to those who did not comply. Frankly, as we pointed out to them, there is no impetus to be responsible right now. In fact, letting the cat out and denying ownership means you DON'T get fined - and that's usually the problem, cats roaming.
I thought that was kinda silly myself. There are rules against cats being in HDBs, which as far as I know comprise most of the housing in Singapore, which forces more cats out into the street since they can't be house pets. That puts it into people's heads that cats aren't healthy or good and should be avoided. That also promotes violence towards strays, because they're seen as unwanted elements of Singapore's environment.
Plus of course, calling up and asking that they be removed and killed also makes it seem that they are 'pests'.
That is some pretty foul behavior. How can you call up an exterminator for cats? They're not roaches or ants.
Unfortunately they are treated as such by the town councils. It's not always the resident's fault. Sometimes a resident may call up and say that they may have an issue with a neighbour's cat. Instead of finding out the source of the problem, often the bandaid solution is to trap and kill whatever community cats that are in the area.
Well, all I can say is that people should remove their heads from their rectums and take a look at the world around them occasionally.
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