Cat dads, we know you’re out there. To your neighbors and coworkers, you’re just a regular guy with cats. But we know you’re a Cat Dad. Maybe even a Cat Daddy. Sure, everyone loves a Cat Mom, but isn’t it time for the Cat Dad to have his day? This Father’s Day is the purrrfect day to honor our hardworking cat fathers taking care of business for the kitties.
Rise of the Cat Dad
If you have a sense that there are more cat dads out there, you are correct. The statistics back up your feline intuition. You’re hearing it first: Rise of the Cat Dad!
Cat Dad Statistics: Numbers Tell the Tale
In the U.S., more men have cats than women! In a landmark 2016 GFK study, recent cond looking at the U.S. pet owning population, 40% of men own cats vs. 38% of women.
In the UK, a steady rise in overall cat ownership is being driven by more men owning cats. So says a recent study by the Pet Food Manufacturer’s Association (PFMA) which shows that 1 in 5 UK men now own cats!
Globally, more women still own cats than men. But not by much. The same GFK study on pet ownership across 22 countries shows a gap of just 3% between the sexes in the type of pet they choose. 25% of women pet owners have cats, while a close 23% of pet owning men own cats.
Millennial cat dads between 18-34 yo are outpacing cat ladies, with one study showing 48 percent had cats, vs. 35 percent of woman.
Men spend more $$! Men are 1.5 times more likely to spend over $100 per month on their pet, they also spend $20 dollars more per month than women. More treatsies!
Where Are All the Cat Guys?
Dog guys are little easier to spot. They are out at the dog park or maybe at the dog-friendly pub. But new research from Nielsen, as reported in the Seattle Times, points to some hot spots for single guys with cats:
Portland
Seattle
Riverside, California
And what cities have a scarcity of single cat loving men?
Miami
Washington D.C.
Boston
Good news for cat lovers everywhere is that there are now cat cafes all across the country, where you may just find your own cat or cat guy.
Favorite Cat Loving Men
Mark Twain
When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade without further introduction. -Mark Twain
Pablo Picasso
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
Picasso is well remembered as a cat guy! There are many pictures of him posing with cats throughout his lifetime. Cats are also portrayed in many of his drawings and paintings.
.
Johnny Cash
Flesh and blood needs flesh and blood, and you’re the one I need.
Goodbye, Great Cat Dad Karl Lagerfeld
In 2019, we lost one of the great cat daddies of them all: fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Over the years, the world well beyond haute-couture has come to know Lagerfeld’s beloved cat, Choupette.
Choupette is in fact a genuine celebrity herself, with fashion shoots, magazine cover, her own book, and -apparently- inheritance.
Choupette inspired Daddy Karl to launch several collections, including Monster Choupette and Choupette Love Collection. Any Choupette item would be sure to delight any cat lover and we can surely thank this most favored kitty cat for much of the cat style we see on streets around the world.
Choupette: A Very Lucky Kitty
Photo: Choupettesdiary
Sadly, Daddy Karl passed away in February of 2019 at the age of eighty-five. But great loves don’t end. A great cat dad to the end and beyond, Lagerfeld left Mademoiselle Choupette very comfortably well-off, with a fortune estimated to upwards of $195 million. Choupette has mostly retreated from her public life and we presume she’s living the life her cat dad dreamed for her.
Photo: Choupettesdiary
Following Lagerfeld’s passing, cat life has been complicated for Choupette. Outwardly, at least. Drama over the estate and even Choupette’s Instagram presence has swirled. But the great cat dad rests well knowing Choupette is well cared for in his absence:
Do you know the old joke where the lady says to the cat, “Go to Daddy.” The husband replies, “I’m not that cat’s daddy!” We’re still laughing! Yesterday’s cat guy is today’s cat dad. While celebrity cat moms like Taylor Swift are well known for their love of cats, today’s celebrity men now share their cat love freely. Ed Sheeran is a leading young cat dad who has even been credited as inspiring the whole generation of millennial cat fathers. He won our hearts with this visit to a cat cafe:
While John Mayer’s cat status is not known, he certainly has cat dad potential and great cat style.
A post shared by ThatCatLife (@thatcatlife_stl) on
It’s not just a thing, it’s a movement! Men have not just embraced the role, but the moniker. And the gift of social media gives us a window into the depths of their devotion. Some have even monetized their cat love, like MoShow The Cat Rapper. Find more cat dads using the obvious hashtags or just check out our personal obsession: Cat Dads Worldwide.
Would You Date a Cat Dad?
Well, duh: for sure! And here at That Cat Life we personally know couples who came together and stayed together through cats. We know one couple who had their first date attending a cat show. The owners of Cattfeinated Cat Cafe first met while volunteering for a cat rescue. They are now partners in life, cat rescue, and Cattfeinated! We believe!
Who wouldn’t want to date this hunky cat dad?
So cat guys should take heart and ignore the latest research out of Colorado State University that suggests women find men with cats “less dateable.”
Before you consider becoming dog guy, know the study presented college women with profile pictures of men with and without cats. The study says, “Men holding cats were viewed as less masculine; more neurotic, agreeable, and open; and less dateable.”
Meh. We’ll take the guy with the cat every single time!
Dateable cat guy from the Instagram account, @tinder.cats, which shares tinder profile pics of people with their cats.
Great post and it does not surprise me as I think a lot of the cat Dads keep quiet so we do not know about them unless they are famous and talk about them.
Oh, I love cat dads! My favorite two are from the Golden Age of Hollywood – actors James Mason and Laurence Olivier. Thanks for showing all the Cat Dads some love.
My husband is definitely a cat man! He calls himself our cats’ “daddy” as well. I love how he interacts with our cats. It’s fun to see all of the celebrity cat dads out there too. 🙂
I love the recent trend in young guys having their yearbook photos taken with their cats. I think I saw something recently about a high schooler who took his cat to the prom!
Had to update my response! My neighbor is a cat dad! He built a screened in cat condo that talks up his entire balcony of a downtown Seattle condo! He did this after I showed him your post in June!
My nephew is a cat dad and loves it. But he’s the only one in our family, the rest of us are dog people. I think cat dads just don’t make it very obvious like cat (and dog) mom’s do. Loved the video on Choupette and all the great photos – where did you find them, especially Mark Twain with a cat?
It is so much fun to see cats getting to do some of the activities that used to be reserved for dogs, like going for walks and other adventures with their humans. All of my kids really loved our cat. I can picture my sons becoming cat dads.
Aww I love this. I must admit my boyfriend was a dog man turned into a cat Dad. Yep, that sealed the deal and I made him a keeper! We’ve been married 8 years this year. 😉
Oh, Freddie Mercury was a huge cat dad! I’ve seen more millennial males with cats – even walking them and some have cat condos. Great piece!
Great post and it does not surprise me as I think a lot of the cat Dads keep quiet so we do not know about them unless they are famous and talk about them.
Oh, I love cat dads! My favorite two are from the Golden Age of Hollywood – actors James Mason and Laurence Olivier. Thanks for showing all the Cat Dads some love.
My husband is definitely a cat man! He calls himself our cats’ “daddy” as well. I love how he interacts with our cats. It’s fun to see all of the celebrity cat dads out there too. 🙂
I love the recent trend in young guys having their yearbook photos taken with their cats. I think I saw something recently about a high schooler who took his cat to the prom!
Had to update my response! My neighbor is a cat dad! He built a screened in cat condo that talks up his entire balcony of a downtown Seattle condo! He did this after I showed him your post in June!
Oh that’s amazing to read. Good for your local cat-dad * cheers *
My nephew is a cat dad and loves it. But he’s the only one in our family, the rest of us are dog people. I think cat dads just don’t make it very obvious like cat (and dog) mom’s do. Loved the video on Choupette and all the great photos – where did you find them, especially Mark Twain with a cat?
I love that we’re seeing more and more men, especially famous and intelligent men, demonstrating their love for cats!
My son is a cat guy. His kitty is a Siberian mix – technically I adopted her but she loves him to distraction
It is so much fun to see cats getting to do some of the activities that used to be reserved for dogs, like going for walks and other adventures with their humans. All of my kids really loved our cat. I can picture my sons becoming cat dads.
Aww I love this. I must admit my boyfriend was a dog man turned into a cat Dad. Yep, that sealed the deal and I made him a keeper! We’ve been married 8 years this year. 😉