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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Why do dog people hate cats?

178 replies

LuxuryMilk · 18/02/2018 15:29

But cat people generally like dogs as well as cats?
Met 3 dog lovers this weekend who all happily admitted they sometimes kick cats off their land they hate them so much!

I’ve never met a cat lover who shows as much venom towards dogs as dog lovers do towards cats. Have I just been meeting the wrong people?

OP posts:
MyDogHasNoNose · 18/02/2018 15:42

Londonrach, you need a dog! My dog sees cat poo as a real delicacy so it solves the gardening problem from our next door neighbour’s cat! Envy

Original poster
LuxuryMilk · 18/02/2018 15:42

MyDogHasNoNose how does he smell?

OP posts:
MyDogHasNoNose · 18/02/2018 15:43

Terrible!

MsMims · 18/02/2018 15:43

Anyone who says they ‘hate’ cats in person has always come across as strange and cold to me. Very weird to have such a strong emotion towards a single species. I think it’s because some people can’t handle the fact that cats don’t have such expressive faces as dogs, and others are nasty people who don’t consider that cats messing in their gardens is the fault of the lazy owners.

FWIW, I have house cats and hate when other people’s cats mess in my garden. But I hate the behaviour, not the animal who is only acting instinctively. Cats aren’t doing it maliciously.

Original poster
LuxuryMilk · 18/02/2018 15:43

But not all cats poo everywhere!
One of mine is a housecat so does it in the tray, the other likes to go outside a lot but does his huge stinking dumps in the tray too.

OP posts:
MargaretCavendish · 18/02/2018 15:44

I love both (have cats now, grew up with dogs) but I think cat people generally know and understand dogs more than dog people know and love cats - before DH talked me into getting our cats I thought they'd be much more standoffish (because that's often what people talk about) - was unprepared for our cats to turn out to be such loving and affectionate little balls of fur (one of them is currently asleep on me), so I think dog people often dislike what they imagine all cats to be like, rather than the much more varied reality.

FrankUnderwoodsWife · 18/02/2018 15:46

Dog people don't want to be owned by a dcat!! Dcat people have accepted their fate as slaves Grin

This.

I am a dog person through and through, everyone else in my family loves cats.
But, their can only be one boss person in the house, and that's me, so sorry dcat, but you don't get to share my space......

MargaretCavendish · 18/02/2018 15:47

Anyone who says they ‘hate’ cats in person has always come across as strange and cold to me.

In my experience people who say they 'hate' cats (rather than just wouldn't have one themselves) come in two varieties: boring and uptight about their garden, or desperate for the emotional neediness of dogs to make themselves feel better. Both are pretty sad.

Thissameearth · 18/02/2018 15:48

I agree with the pp who said I think people tend to like one more than the other rather than Cat people liking dogs but not the reverse. I have recently moved to a house with a garden and genuinely didn’t realise that cats who are let out just go anywhere they want. dogs are generally only out with their owners who keep them in check (mostly). The cats here come in our garden and do the toilet, come in through the door. It’s really annoying. Car owners openly laugh that they can’t/don’t want to control them so unless they’re house cats (which doesn’t sound amazing for the cats) then whenever I see them they’re scratching my car and sh!tting in my garden and those aren’t things I find endearing 😋. Also cats jump up on kitchen surfaces etc after being outside and you don’t know where they e been. Dogs in my family only go out with owners and aren’t up on furniture let alone kitchen surfaces so seems more hygienic to me, whether it is or not. They are cute in the abstract though

Twocatsonebaby · 18/02/2018 15:49

@margaret 100% agree. They need that comfort.

Freyanna · 18/02/2018 15:49

I love my cat she is really cuddly and loving.

My DP loves her too, but says he thinks cats are a 'woman's pet'.

I like dogs but i don't like them jumping at me as I was attacked and bitten as a child.

I wish dog owners would train them not to do this, it's not the dog's fault.

Laiste · 18/02/2018 15:50

I used to be 50/50 and kept dogs and cats.

Now i veer towards cats and probably wouldn't have a dog again.

My DM used to hate cats with a passion, i remember her venom against them when i was a kid, talking about poisoning next door's cat ect. We always had dogs while i was growing up. However when my DF died 10 years ago she adopted 2 cats and spoils them rotten. She denies ever saying anything even slightly bad about cats! Hmm

HainaultViaNewburyPark · 18/02/2018 15:51

I can't even spend time in a cat owners house - the residual cat hair is enough to trigger an asthma attack. I prefer not to be hospitalised if it is all the same to you. I think my cat hatred is perfectly rational - it's a matter of self-preservation.

And I will persist with the water pistol - my aim is to discourage them from entering my garden. Just shooing them away doesn't work.

Scabbersley · 18/02/2018 15:51

I have both. They are both great for different reasons

If I could only have one though it would be a dog every time.

Original poster
LuxuryMilk · 18/02/2018 15:51

I agree about the needy personality.
Me and my cat have lived quite happily disliking each other for nearly 19 years now Grin

OP posts:
Twocatsonebaby · 18/02/2018 15:52

It's not the dog I don't like. It's the owners.
I hate how they fear upsetting through dog (DP's nan) her dog went up to a little girl she didn't know in the park (off her lead) and stole her ice cream and she looked at the dog and said "oh bless, she's still hungry" no get that fucking dog trained and on a lead!

Props to you all though who train your dogs and they're well behaved I wouldn't want one but could happily sit with a well trained dog.

busyboysmum · 18/02/2018 15:52

I love cats but not keen on dogs.

Big and smelly and over enthusiastic. Lots and lots of work. I find them v annoying on beaches.

Cats are v easy and low maintenance.

WeAllHaveWings · 18/02/2018 15:53

I’m a dog lover, and can only speak for myself but I do dislike and don’t feel comfortable around cats.

Mainly because most cats I know (family, friends, neighbors) seem to scratch or bite their owners on a regular basis and they think it’s funny, behaviour that would not be tolerated in a dog. Outdoor cats maim and play with wildlife. Not to mention shitting in my garden so I will chase any cat that comes in. They are independent and have little loyalty to their owners.

I would never wish harm to a living animal, but a typical domestic cat has too many traits that are not endearing.

A typical domestic dog’s nature is to please humans so it’s much more likely a cat personal would like both.

Wingedharpy · 18/02/2018 15:54

Cats kill birds just for the fun of it.

Dljlr · 18/02/2018 15:55

I've always had a cat. I've had friendly babies that won't leave me alone and antisocial buggers that largely ignore me, like the current cat of the house. I'm comfortable with both. Hate dogs with some passion though, they make me feel a bit sick. Absolutely can't bear their mouths or smell, and I've never grasped the appeal of having something you need to walk and clear up its shit.

EnglishRose13 · 18/02/2018 15:55

I'm a dog person, I also love cats. We have both.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 18/02/2018 15:56

Good post WeAllHaveWings

JacquesHammer · 18/02/2018 15:56

I’m neither a cat person or a dog person. I am coming around to the latter to try and keep the former out of my house and garden.

Twocatsonebaby · 18/02/2018 15:56

@weallhavewings
They act like it's acceptable. DP's family have two jack Russells. One is lovely the other has 'little dog syndrome' dp was comforting her and she really bit him and he bled. Then she tried to go for me whilst pregnant with dd. They pass it off like it's nothing.
Not to mention the other day she bit half of DP's nans dogs ear off and it had to be operated on. Hmm

MargaretCavendish · 18/02/2018 15:57

I think my cat hatred is perfectly rational - it's a matter of self-preservation.

It's about as rational as a person with a peanut allergy deciding that all peanuts were out to get them - obviously it makes sense for you to avoid cats (and I suspect cat owners aren't that sad that you can't come round) but you appear to think that they make you allergic on purpose - the problem is you, not them!