... to think that cats aren't 'for girls'?

[Wroxie]

A co-worker had a baby recently and right before it was born I knit a little hat with tiny kitty ears to send along with a card- because I know she loves cats and she and her partner have several. I didn't know the sex of the baby at the time so I purposely made it a nice fawn colour that could go for either (I personally would be happy with blue hat for a girl or a pink hat for a boy but I didn't feel like taking a stand with this particular gift).

She sent me a message after the baby was born to say thank you and to say 'If our next one is a girl she can wear that sweet little hat, I've carefully put it away in hopes'.

Really? Now cats are for girls only? Can anyone please tell me which, if any, animals are gender neutral for future baby knitting?

Strange response from her. All animals are definitely gender neutral for baby clothes.

I've heard the predator vs prey animal thing, but I think there is also a dog vs cat thing even though a cat is a predator. I personally think all animals are fine for both sexes but dislike pink so wouldn't buy anything in pink for either sex.

It was off of her to tell you that, being honest most clothes with cats on I would say are aimed at girls but her response was odd and weird not to use it

Thats a weird view, cats are great, any little one will look cute as a cat.

Maybe she is just not an "ears on hats" kind of person.

Either way, it's really rude of her to tell you her baby won't be wearing it.

It's an odd belief to hold, it's even odder to respond to your gift in this way. How would you ever have known that she wasn't going to use it?

There's nothing about a kitten styled hat that makes it unwearable for a male baby, for goodness sake.

That is the oddest thing I’ve ever heard. You should reassure her it’s a male cat on the hat

What a load of tosh! And sorry that she behaved so ungratefully towards your lovely handmade gift OP. IMO all animals are gender neutral when it comes to baby clothing.

I had a similar situation with a friend when we both had small babies. I used to refer to DS as "Kitten". She would repeatedly respond that as he was a boy he could not possibly be referred to as kitten - that was for girls only - he should be "Puppy". Total nonsense & just made me use it all the more!

Bizarre response from her. The hat sounds adorable.

Blimey, bit ungrateful

It's weird, isn't it! She's not a rude person generally - I think she just thinks that OF COURSE it's so beyond the pale to even consider putting a boy in a hat with kitten ears that she felt that it was LESS rude to reassure me that it was being saved for a future daughter than to leave me feeling bad that it wouldn't be used at all since she had a boy.

I disagree with her - but I wanted to say that this isn’t just some random weirdness from her.

When I see cartoons, dogs are very often male names and cats female.

Any hint of “sweet little kitty” would definitely be “for girls” 🙄

@Insertfunnyname

That is the oddest thing I’ve ever heard. You should reassure her it’s a male cat on the hat

Ha I'll tell her it was inspired by my childhood cat Tom (original, I know) who, in the days before we all had our cats spayed or neutered, was VERY well known for his virility. He sired kittens all over town, did Tom. A very masculine feline indeed.

How rude! You've made that by hand. Not just picked it up in M&S

When I had a baby, I was given loads of stuff I didn't like. You stick it on baby, take a photo, send a text and say thanks for the garish outfit, my sweet newborn baby boy looks fab in hot pink leopard leggings! I love it!

How strange, I'd definitely put my son in that hat. I bought a new baby gift today and realise how much I stay away from pink and blue completely!

So peculiar! I like the suggested response from a PP... 'don't worry, its definitely twly a tomcat!'

I have a couple of cards with hoods with knitted ears that I've let both my dd and dd wear as toddlers. No idea which animal the ears represent! Should I be worried!?

She’s both odd and rude; no more gifts!

DS2 would definitely agree with you, but the designers and marketers seem to think otherwise. Cat stuff seems to be mainly pink, and aimed towards girls.

Ignore the 'twly' in my previous post

Yes maybe thought she was being polite. Putting baby in hat and taking a pic anyway must have been somehow beyond the pale. People eh?!

And cardis, not cards! I give up!

I would have loved a hand knitted cardi with any sort of ears for my son when he was born. Cats definitely not for girls only .

Come on OP, surely it's obvious that cats/kittens are for girls because cats are sweet, docile creatures...

I'm joking, in case it's not obvious, and obviously any animal can be for boys or girls, but an awful lot of people do seem to hold weird opinions on this. Strangely cats seem to be the exception to the too prevalent predator/prey boy/girl divide - domestic cats are more predators than most domestic dogs, surely? And what a dreadful idea to associate boys with predators and girls with prey 😠.

Your hat sounds great, OP, and I think your co-worker is rude for not just saying thank you, as she would any other gift she didn't intend to use.