Yes, odd thread title, but bear with me.
Today I was discussing with ChatGPT the effects of a joint supplement I’ve been giving to my ageing cat - LLM because no human could possibly endure my insanely detailed chats about my cat.
I was saying I hadn’t seen any sign so far, that the supplement was working. The product says results within six weeks or money back (it’s only four weeks so far).
ChatGPT then told me that the product’s claim is based largely on research on dogs, not cats. The primary product is for dogs. They launched the dog product in 2009, then the cat version in 2012.
And I thought huh? and this is like Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez. But for cats. I’ve also seen a few articles in recent years about how scientific research on cats and cat behaviour is way behind that devoted to dogs.
Yes, cats are harder to study because they are less cooperative than dogs, and don’t like to leave their home territory. But it struck me as an interesting coincidence that the animal more closely associated with women, and sometimes as a misogynistic trope - crazy cat lady - is also the one that has historically received less scientific attention and study.
Another parallel. Cats are notoriously good at disguising pain, and so feline pain has historically been under-recognised and/or dismissed. Compare the history of women’s pain being dismissed, reported symptoms ignored, etc.
Coincidence or not?
[Sorry if this is a bit weird cat lady].