# Your encounter with non-cat person



## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

What is your encounter with a non-cat person like? anything good, bad or just funny?

As we all know about cats' scent communication. Whenever ET rubs against objects with his cheek, head and body, first thing hubby insists "go find something to ease his itch". I had to explain many times, it has nothing to do with itch but he didn't quite believe me, so each time ET rub, hubby kept reminding me to find something for that itch. ET does it everyday, hubby probably got used to it and I didn't seem to bother, he just stopped mentioning, but every once in a while he still does, pretty annoying though, lol. 

Its the same with ET scratching his face and neck. Hubby kept asking me to go buy anti-flea med.

We all know too, every kitty will start cleaning themselves after a meal, by licking their paw, then using that paw to wipe the mouth. Each time hubby sees that, he'd say "you see, he liked the food, the food must be paw licking good" which is "finger licking good for us", lol.

Whenever ET startles and behaved scaredy, he'd say "he is mentally unsound cos of his FIV+ condition"


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## threecatguy (Aug 25, 2013)

I have had people over that had seemingly had Ailurophobia... 

Like people who would not sit near one of my cats.

I had one person call them "Soulless Creatures" But i quickly made clear that they where unwelcome in my home... 

Some people just don't understand how wonderful cats can be.


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

I don't tend to run into people who dislike animals, or even people who don't understand them. And people I meet who aren't animal lovers never get to be friends or invited into my home. Though I've had people tell me they don't like cats, it was only when I didn't have a cat and all I'd say is that I love them but am to allergic to own one... thankfully that has changed and I now have a cat! I don't understand people who don't like animals and don't want to be around them.


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

Interesting, why do you not want to be with someone of a different interests? Many people make up this world, we can't possibly have everybody having the same interest, can we?

My best friend of 30years, never like pets, fishes, cats or dogs. My own mom, cousin, sis-in-law and hubby's relatives are non animal lovers, infact they are animal haters. We had so much opposition from them with regards to our fishes and ET, but yet we are still as close as ever. I just have to remember not to touch on the subject of our fishes and ET, but I do forget and get carried away sometimes only to be snub after that, lol. I do get upset there and then, but really forgive and forget thereafter.


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

I don't tend to gravitate to people that don't relate to animals. To me it is weird to dislike pets, specially cats. I don't necessarily dislike people like that but I will probably not get close to them.


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

Well, as I dont understand why people don't like pets and my life revolves around them, it wouldn't be a good relationship, would it? I have few interests outside of my pets and dog sports and training, and am bored easily by normal female interests, and I imagine non animal lovers are easily bored by my interests. My entire family loves animals and I've yet to even meet an extended family member who isn't an animal lover, so I haven't spent time with many who don't like them. Even in school I dumped friends for a comment like "it's just a dog" I truly am not interested in people who don't like them.


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

Ya, I know, I don't deny sometimes I do judge them, I don't expect them to like animals, but at least show some due respect for the owners and animals and accept the fact that we do own these pets. No, I don't get a single helping hand or listening ear when our pets are concerned, in fact, we were always, I mean ALWAYS, advised to give them up. So, my way around it, is, NEVER DISCUSS ANIMAL ISSUE. There are hundreds of things to talk about, lol. Though their topic is always on their children, grand children, its ok, never mind if they don't lend us their listening ear, we lend them ours, lol.

Ya, it can be pretty lonely with no one to share our joys of pet ownership, thats the reason why I joined this forum, lol.


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

And honestly, I couldn't be around the opposition and dislike of my family (yes, I consider my pets family) I'm very protective of them.


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

Your dogs and cats are really so fortunate.


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

snowy said:


> Your dogs and cats are really so fortunate.


No, I am


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## wallycat (Nov 10, 2012)

I think it depends on how vested time is devoted to the animals. DH had a cat and at the time, I was not a cat lover. I am an animal lover, but cats seemed aloof and "rat-like" in my mind. DH and I were dating then and he simply did not foist the cat on me. He went about his business, as did the cat, and I soon learned to appreciate dear sweet wally-cat. Mixed blessings...I learned how magnificent cats are; I also learned I have cat allergies. Fast forward...we have 3 (6 at one time). 

If DH would have been "all about the cat," then perhaps it would have been an initial deal-breaker for us both, but we let things develop and it proved a non-event.

As with many "issues" in life, if we don't try to foist our ideas onto someone, it usually is a manageable situation.


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## Blakeney Green (Jan 15, 2013)

Jetlaya67 said:


> I don't tend to gravitate to people that don't relate to animals. To me it is weird to dislike pets, specially cats. I don't necessarily dislike people like that but I will probably not get close to them.


This is horribly judgmental of me, but at an emotional level rather than a logical level I find I have some distrust of people who dislike animals, which I have to overcome as I get to know them.

I do have some acquaintances who don't like animals, but they don't get invited to my house because - well, I have animals! And it's the cats' home too, so whoever comes has to respect that.

People who just aren't used to cats are a different matter. Some of my friends are in that category. One time Maisie was sitting on the lap of one of those friends, and she asked me why he was growling (he was purring) and why he kept looking at her (well, he _was_ on her lap, it's not weird for him to want to interact, he's not a toy! )

My cats are generally pretty good at making friends, even when people haven't been around kitties much.


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## Jakiepoo (Jan 5, 2013)

My uncle very strongly dislikes almost all animals, especially our cats, he's the only person I've ever encountered who actually doesn't like animals. Most like most animals, just not cats, like one of my very best friends. Yes, my pets are family, especially little Jacob, but so is my uncle, and so are my best friends. 

When it comes to people who don't love cats I just laugh, especially when they meet my cat, as he is easily excitable and while dogs jump, and bark, and lick, and try to play in their cute way when a bunch of people walk through the door, Jacob gets excited and tries to play in HIS cute way. People who don't know cats think he's just trying to attack him, but really he's trying to get them to play with him. Even my best friend has reached the point where she'll play with him (though she still isn't a fan of most cats she's starting to not mind mine). As for my uncle, he'll never love cats, he's terrifies of them actually, but it doesn't mean we don't love him all the same, he was in our lives FIRST. We'd never give up our pets for him, but we'd never drop him because he didn't like our pets, it just doesn't make sense.


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## TinyPaws (Jun 23, 2013)

I had a boyfriend a long time ago who told me I had to train my cats because they just went everywhere I told him that this is their home they go where they please. He tried to tell me I had too many cats once - I told him the cats were here first (needless to say that relationship didn't last) :razz:


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

Blakeney Green said:


> This is horribly judgmental of me, but at an emotional level rather than a logical level I find I have some distrust of people who dislike animals, which I have to overcome as I get to know them.
> 
> .



I feel exactly the same way. Sometimes I feel a little judgmental, but then I say "nah", especially if you are the kind of person that HATES cat, as in you would drive them out far away and dump them kind of person, oh, I just flat out can't stand that person. My mom has an older lady in her neighborhood that did that, and confessed it to my mom and she told her what an awful person she was right then and there....yay mom! It's not that I dislike and distrust non cat people, it's the cat haters that I distrust. And people that feel like their dogs are disposable too, can't stand those people either. You really can tell so much about a person by how they feel about animals. I have a dog, and I adore my dog, a doberman, but I am not really a dog person...in fact, I don't particularly like other peoples dogs, but I am far from a dog hater. I'm just more of a cat person. 

I honestly just don't get how people cannot be completely head over heels in love with cats.....I just don't get it!!! What is not to love!!! :kittyball


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## dt8thd (Jan 7, 2013)

I've found that most people who claim to hate cats are either quite allergic to them or afraid of them. Whenever I encounter someone who admits to being afraid of cats, I ask them why, and the answer is almost always that the fear stems from a lack of understanding. People in general have a much harder time decyphering cat body language and vocalizations than they do a dog's. In the mind of someone who's afraid or wary of cats, this lack of understanding makes cats unpredictable. Sometimes these people have had negative experiences with cats, but it's not knowing enough about cat behaviour to analyze why that experience unfolded the way it did that typically makes people afraid. I mean, I've had feral cats come at me with their claws and teeth, but _I'm_ not afraid of cats. I have a co-worker who is quite afraid of cats because she had a cat jump up on her shoulder unexpectedly while at a friend's house years and years ago. According to her, she froze (she has always been unsure around cats), and the cat sat on her shoulder, leaned in and sniffed her face, and then jumped off. That's it! Nothing else happened, yet this is the experience my co-worker cites as the reason she's afraid of cats. No one with any cat experience or even a basic understanding of cat body language would percieve an incident like this as threatening. Startling? Sure. Threatening? Not so much. Whatever, I happen to think my co-worker is pretty clueless--for a number of reasons; this just happens to be one of them.


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## tezster (Jun 4, 2013)

People don't have to like my cats, but they have to understand why I do. It's true that a lot of negative attitudes many people have concerning cats (or pets in general) is simply due to lack of knowledge. To put it bluntly, I feel there's a lot of ignorance and misunderstanding among the general public about cats. 

As a child, I once had a staring contest with the household cat - the cat promptly reached out with his paws on either side of my temple and scratched me quite severely. But even then, that experience didn't make me fearful or distrustful of the little fur babies in the least. I've always had an affinity for cats, even before I had them as pets - I'm drawn to their independent and aloof nature


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

I am only close to people that love animals. We live in a town with no family within 500+ miles on either side (kind of like a paradise). MY MIL is a non animal person, but I don't see her much at all and I know how to be polite when I need to be. MY hubby will lay into her if she gets ridiculous though, so the pressure is off me. I could not have a close relationship with a cat hater. I just couldn't. I've met ignorant people that were willing to learn, but a true hater? - no way.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Marcia said:


> I am only close to people that love animals. We live in a town with no family within 500+ miles on either side (kind of like a paradise). MY MIL is a non animal person, but I don't see her much at all and I know how to be polite when I need to be. MY hubby will lay into her if she gets ridiculous though, so the pressure is off me. I could not have a close relationship with a cat hater. I just couldn't. I've met ignorant people that were willing to learn, but a true hater? - no way.


Ditto!! Including the "Family" part!

When my husband and I first got together, he wasn't a huge cat fan! He knew right off the get go tho, that my dog and cats, were NOT going anywhere! Period!
Now...he on the other hand...!
Well, we just celebrated 11 yrs. yesterday!
And now he's been through the Heartache with me, and shed his own tears when we've lost some, through the years...
And has dug the little graves for me...
I now have five in my back yard...

I have always believed that you can tell a lot about a person by how they treat any animal...


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

/shrug 

I wasn't a cat person and my husband was. I was a hardcore dog person. Through our marriage we always has at least 2 or 3 dogs (usually more). He didn't get 'his' cat until about 10 years into the marriage. I always thought cats (like the rest of my family thought) were like rodents. Just vermin that made the farm outbuildings smell like pee. We always had ONE female mouser we would spay and let live in the house growing up but we weren't allowed to feed her or play with her. She was a working animal, not a pet. (the last 'mouser' broke those barriers, she turned into a beloved family pet and probably paved the way for me to adopt MowMow).

When I divorced I didn't want to live completely alone and my apartment didn't allow dogs so I figured I'd adopt a cat. We could keep each other company and I figured a cat would be easy to take care of. Toss some food down give it a bowl of water and we'd live our own lives.

Then came MowMow  I imagine I'll always love dogs and want a dog but...MowMOw definitely changed my mind about cats. I just adore them now.


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## Jordie (Aug 20, 2013)

I was at you mean sorry this one girls are you have a cat why she's even working in the cat section of the time. Of course i brushed, it off as ignorance because of they don't have cats they don't understand, the, love these little ones can give.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

I have one friend that doesn't own a cat and never has, she does have three dogs though. It's amusing watching her with cats, she doesn't know how to read them or what to expect, she seems to expect that when a cat swats it's going to draw blood or if it tries to bite it's going to bite hard -- and then she's amazed when these things happen and they're done in play, very lightly... but if she ever got a cat I think she'd love them, she sure loves her dogs! 

I also know a fair few that prefer dogs so they don't own cats, one even does rescue work with dogs... they've had cats in the past, but it's been more of an obligation rather than any real love of the cats. 

I don't _get_ it, but as long as they will tolerate cats, and everyone I know does plus many go the extra mile, then we get along just fine. However, if they're not an animal person (meaning they dislike both cats and dogs) ... honestly, these sort of people always initially creep me out. 

From the one recollection I have of meeting someone that told me they don't like cats, I remember immediately no longer wanting to speak with them; it was like their dislike of cats was insulting me personally. It was a weird defensive feeling. They're just a friend of a friend, so I've hardly ever met them, but when I do I don't have much to say... they _could _be a really great person otherwise, but I find it very hard to look past disliking a cuddly sweet little animal.


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## Jordie (Aug 20, 2013)

Oops that, would be humane society not you, mean sOrry


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

ohhh...not all cat or animal haters are lousy as friends or are less desirable as friends, they are just as great. I know what my hubby's cousin did to a kitten was inhuman, but that aside, she's a great cousin, a great adopted daughter. She knew I was upset with her then, she was embarrassed, but I had to look on the other side of her, she took such great pains watching over her sick adopted mum, an adopted mum who never really cared much about her, neglected her, but yet it never once crossed her mind to desert this old sickly adopted mum till she passed away. Both hubby and myself have such great respect for her. We had got along that many years, I wouldn't let anything come between us.

I am a fish and dog convert less than 10years ago and a cat convert only approx 4years ago. So, things do change and I never knew I would one day keep a cat. Before that, I am neither an animal lover or hater, just a totally ignorant person. I was scared of larger dogs though and still am. My younger brother was badly bitten by a larger stray dog and I was chased by a larger stray dog too and it turned out the dog that chased me was a male cheeky dog. He goes around chasing girls, lol.

I was a dog convert more cos of the influence of my deceased parents-in-law who are both dog lovers, including hubby. Father-in-law does feed the stray dogs near where he worked and hubby had been telling me stories about mom-in-law and her protective dog. In fact, it wasn't her dog, it was the neighbour's dog, but cos mom-in-law fed her and she became so attached to mom-in-law.

Anyway, I know it isn't easy communicating with non animals lovers on animal matters. I know how hard it is, cos we just naturally like sharing or talking about cat happenings and such but yet I can't breathe a single word about my cats or fishes when I am with them, I know what I will get, so if ever I get snub, don't blame them, I just need to remember to keep my mouth shut, lol...

Life is such, we can't please everybody, neither can I expect everybody to please me. So, if I am gonna stick around non animal lovers, I'll stick to non animal topics.


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