Kevin Marshall's America
Battle of wills
If you’re male, there’s a stigma that comes with owning a cat. There are some that see it as creepy or weird that men would willingly opt in to keeping a cat as a pet, perhaps owing to the stereotype cat owners have of being lonely women.
But that’s narrow-minded, judgmental nonsense. I’ll say it here, loudly and proudly: I, Kevin Marshall, am a cat man.
Granted, I’m also a dog man. If I see a dog, I immediately fall into a million pathetic pieces and start speaking baby-talk gibberish. So really I should say that I’m just silly for four-legged domesticated animals.
Thing is, though, dogs are high maintenance. They require the attention that someone like me – who’s always on the go – may not have time to give. Some people are just too damn busy for dogs, and I’m one of them.
A cat, on the other hand, is a perfect companion for me. My cat and I are very much alike. Like me she strikes pretentious poses, is holier than thou, rarely gets motivated, and has an undeserved sense of entitlement. Her favorite habit? Sleeping, just like me. Also, although I’m very cuddly and affectionate, I’m also potentially dangerous.
My cat Zoe and I have a bond, having lived with it for so many years (she turned 19 last month), and I was always her favorite. She became a part of my family in 1992, and when my mother decided to move down to Virginia, I inherited her and brought her with me to my new apartment. She literally has been with me for my entire adult life, and was there for my highest highs and lowest lows, purring contently on the lower-left corner of my bed. Sure, pets aren’t given a choice as to who their owner is, but she has not even made an attempt to break out and go outside in about four or five years, and that has to count for something.
I’m Kevin Marshall, and I am a cat man.
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31 Responses to Nothing wrong with being a cat man
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STALK ME
Love it.
Thank you for being a proud (manly) cat owner. :)
Zoe is lovely lady and doesn’t look a day over 15. I hope she’s able to break the current world’s record of 34 years, two months and four hours. http://bit.ly/k9MkgQ
LOVE this, Kevin!
My fiance is also a cat man. He tries to downplay it the company of others, but behind closed doors, it’s baby talk to the cat all day long.
Me too….we are just THAT secure in our man-hood…ok, maybe not. I like cats better, but mostly just MY cat. Because like grandkids, my cat is smarter, cooler and cuter than all others. ;)
I like dogs far better, labs mostly, chocolate in particular.
Some family members, including my wife, have been bitten and scratched badly by cats… and I have been in homes where they let cats walk all over the kitchen counter tops, tables, etc etc etc. not for me.
I find you incredibly sexy right now…. so does my cat.
Did you know that February 7-13th was National Cat Guy Week? Here’s a cute– yet manly– blog post celebrating it: http://www.pawcurious.com/2011/02/much-love-to-the-cat-guys/
The best argument for being a Cat Guy: Buffalo Bill had a pet dog.
I too am a cat man, and securely proud of it. And while my cats walk wherever they please, at least they don’t eat their own feces, lick their genitalia and then lick me.
Perhaps we need a manly contender to Friday puppy…Monday Pussy, er, Kitty???
Ski-Bi dibby dib yo da dub dub. Yo dab dub dub. Ski-Bi dibby dib yo da dub dub. I’M A CATMAN !! Goodluck getting that out of your head!
Cats are amazing–and some also have preferences. Mine usually prefer dad or the have-some-fun male in the house. One cat sits on the sofa and has a hard time deciding, so he sometimes alternates laps.
I am a cat and dog man. More of a dog man though since my cat can’t keep up with me when I go for a run as she gets too easily distracted by my shoelaces or chasing her own tail.
Great article! I love all animals, but like you, I don’t have the lifestyle for a dog. I’ve had my most recent cat, Eartha Kitty, for nine of her ten-plus years, and I’m guessing she’s cool with that, since I can leave my front door wide open for minutes at a time, and she’ll just look outside, as if to say “there’s definitely no free food out here.” Though I am defintely a cat lady, “lonely” has never fit the description.
I’d say owning a cat is pretty manly. I adopted a black and white kitten a year and a half ago because my ex moved out and the house was feeling pretty empty. I named the kitten Oreo (due to her black and whiteness) and refer to her as my roommate more often than my cat. She’s always at the door when I come home meowing until she gets a treat. It’s nice. After she gets her treat, she goes off and lays on the window sill. I yell at her, though, for not doing any chores while I’m gone for the day… I was not a “pet person” at all and was pretty annoyed by most of the kitten-esque antics. However, I’ve been teaching her and have been learning how to be a cat owner as she grows out of her kitten stage.
Writing this kinda made me feel less manly though…
James Frederick – I hear you. I often will chastise my cat for laying about and not contributing to rent. Mine’s a Russian Blue, so it chats me up whenever I come home and especially if I come back from being gone for the weekend.
I’m a dog person, but I like cats a lot. I know plenty of men who own them … manly, manly men. Dogs are great, but they’re like small children. You can’t leave a dog alone for a night or two.
Men and cats go together like Terry Jones and Spam. Nuff said.
Nothing wrong with being a cat man . . . said the cat man. I’m spending way too much time reading The Onion.
Yes! Does anyone else notice that their cat has a similar personality to yourself other than me and Kevin? I’m starting to feel guilty that she’s picked up my neuroses.
I’ll talk to any animal I see, much to the embarassment of anyone with me. Sometimes to the embarassment of the animal.
BTW, #9, for cats there is CATurday! Google it. It seems like CATurday began as a saturday, but has recently been redistributed to every single day…
You should take Lucy to live with you.
FOLKS – Lucy is my sister Megan’s cat, and she’s straight up evil. Like, seriously, the meanest cat the world has ever seen. She tolerates one person and literally chases and hisses at everyone else.
You could start a blog about just all the awful things she’s done, like when she got banned from the Vet or she chased our friend Timmy L. – a grown man and veteran of the US Army – from my sisters’ living room all the way into the bathroom. True story.
This is great !! Almost all of the men i have gotten along with so well in my life have been “cat men”.. I being a cat lady appreciate this.. I dont see anything wrong or creepy about it.. Actually my best friend (who is a guy) has 2 of them, it just makes me go AWWWW…
Psycho-Kitty Blog!!!
Cat man to…sounds like a movie.
As a representitive of the cat community I would like to thank you Mr. Marshall for your continued support.
GC
ps: dogs are lame.
One of the reasons I, along with my friends, stopped reading Kristi Gustafson’s On the Edge was because she talked negatively about men who have cats. It set a bad tone with me– can’t really explain it, and that’s what my friends said as well. I heard her clicks are down, too. Go figure.
What a nice little story. I can’t believe Zoe is 19 yrs old, wow that’s a good long life. And, absolutely nothing wrong with a cat man … i find them quite endearing.
“If you’re male, there’s a stigma that comes with owning a cat.”
[citation needed]
@B,
Citation provided (kind of): http://blog.timesunion.com/kristi/15814/men-and-cats/
Agreed! My cat, Selina, is also a Russian Blue, like Kevin’s.
A guy who loves any kind of animal is the kind of guy you want to take home to meet your parents!