| Jul. 1st, 2008 @ 07:27 am Why do people think cats are evil? |
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I'm going to make a gross generalization here, but it's something I've been noticing for years.
In Western society there's our two favorite companion animals: cats and dogs. And then there's the certain types of people who prefer one animal over the other: Cat People and Dog People.
But why is it that, outside of Cat People, the cat is so HATED? It seems that cat people may be annoyed with dogs but don't really hate dogs, but non-Cat People tend to REALLY HATE CATS.
For example, the Cats are Mean trope. All over TV, movies, and books, the heroes are Dog People, while the villians are Cat People. The heroes of cartoons are mice, birds, and dogs, while the villians are cats. Cat Heroes are the exception to the general rule that cats are evil, and people who own cats are evil.
And then there are dead cat jokes. I don't know ANY dead dog jokes, but I do know a few dead cat jokes. "I'm sorry, I seem to have run over your cat. To make it up to you, I could replace the cat." "Can you catch mice?"
Can you imagine a dog version of that joke? There's an Irish legend like that, but other than that, I can't think of anything, and I don't think the Hound of Ulster was meant as a joke.
The other day at work Craig said he saw a funny bumper sticker that read, "If you're looking for your cat, check under my tires." I didn't think it was funny at all, but he thought the idea of a cat squished under tires was very funny.
I also seem to remember a Chevy Chase movie from a while back that had, on the preview, a scene where the family cat chews through the wire of the Christmas lights and gets electrocuted. This was also meant to be funny. It made me sick at my stomach and never want to see any Chevy Chase movie ever. And, come to think of it, I don't think I ever have.
In books and movies, the death of a dog is always tragic. Think Old Yeller, or Where the Red Fern Grows, or even Legend. The death of the ever loyal and heroic Dog is always a guaranteed tear-jerker. Cat death is played for laughs.
"There's more than one way to skin a cat," but Cruella DeVille was PURE EVIL for wanting to skin dogs.
Why is this? Lots of people every year are killed or maimed by dogs, while I've never heard of a person being killed by a house cat. Plague carrying and grain destroying rodents are heroes while those that have protected us against them for thousands of years, cats, are the villians.
I've even read an article that said people who like cats are probably infected by toxoplasmosis, which has a mild effect on your brain, and that's why we like them. So cat-loving is a mental disease caused by a parasite, while dog-loving is perfectly natural.
Is it because dogs are submissive and fully domesticated while cats are still half-wild? Do most people just feel uncomfortable with an animal around that doesn't automatically submit to your authority as a Human?
I mean, obviously I'm biased here, being one of those Cat People, but it seems like even though cats are now the most popular pets in the US, and have been for some time in many European countries like the UK, generally cats are still viewed in culture as being a bit evil. What's the deal? |
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