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! The numbers tell the tale:

None of this is a big surprise for us cat people, but we like it!

Men Who Love Cats

Let’s be clear: men have always loved cats. While Cat Moms seem to get all the press and swag, cat dads are just out there quietly being cat guys. World leaders, titans of business, artists, and regular guys are just as likely to be cat people as dog people (and it’s more than fine to be both). Not surprisingly, some of our favorite men who love cats are artists. Is it the heart or the intellect?

Mark Twain

When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.”

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.

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Johnny Cash

“Flesh and blood needs flesh and blood, and you’re the one I need.”

Goodbye, Great Cat Daddy 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.

HAPPY NEW YEAR from Karl and Choupette ? #KARLLAGERFELD pic.twitter.com/epQrI5uY1A

— KARL LAGERFELD (@KarlLagerfeld) January 1, 2017

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:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Dear daddy It’s been a year since you’ve not been here, time flies so quickly… I learned to live with the weight of your absence, not a day goes by without me thinking of you, of us, of all those happy memories spent near to you. Thank you for the love you have given me for these joys that you have brought me, thank you for being you, a unique and exceptional man. You know, everyone loved you and we still love you today, because this Love is infinite… Our Françoise takes care of me as you wished, we are fine, I know that from where you are, you watch over us… One day we will meet again and we can hug again. Until this day, I do everything to make the people I love happy… Know that I loved you, I love you and I will love you forever etched for eternity With love, your Choupinette?❤️ #Choupette #choupettelagerfeld #karllagerfeld #karlforever?

A post shared by Choupette Lagerfeld (@choupetteofficiel) on Feb 19, 2020 at 2:29am PST

Step aside Cat Moms, Here Come the Cat Dads

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.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

When we couldn’t love JM more, he wears this. #catpeople #catwear #johnmayer #cats

A post shared by ThatCatLife (@thatcatlife_stl) on Dec 2, 2017 at 10:34pm PST

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.

Swipe right for the cat dad! Credit: @tinder.cats