Why is there such a pathological hatred of cats in Irish society?

Misanthrope

Can't speak for everyone else but I find this site has kindled and nurtured my distaste for felines.It does get a lot of hits from Ireland.

http://cathaters.tribe.net/

MickShamrock

I've always liked cats.

pablo_escobar

cats carry diseases which can kill humans.

if you're a farm owner, you wouldn't want a cat on it, that's for sure.

many a kid got ill or died from coming into contact with cat faeces.

and pregnant women should stay clear...overall cats carry about as many diseases as a rat i'd say...

gurramok

pablo_escobar wrote: »

cats carry diseases which can kill humans.

if you're a farm owner, you wouldn't want a cat on it, that's for sure.

many a kid got ill or died from coming into contact with cat faeces.

and pregnant women should stay clear...overall cats carry about as many diseases as a rat i'd say...

So? Humans have carried diseases that killed humans, I think you should live in solitary confinement

GLaDOS

pablo_escobar wrote: »

cats carry diseases which can kill humans.

if you're a farm owner, you wouldn't want a cat on it, that's for sure.

many a kid got ill or died from coming into contact with cat faeces.

and pregnant women should stay clear...overall cats carry about as many diseases as a rat i'd say...

You are much more likely to contract ailments from other humans than you are from your cat.

Better stay away from people so

Misanthrope

Neighbours of mine had a cat that was carrying something that caused one of their children to go blind.It's something that kittens have I was told.I lived by them for two years and the child remained blind.I don't know if the damage is irreparable or not.

etymon

God, I hate cats. I think it's because my mam did too and growing up she always said 'horrible creatures'! so maybe I'm just a product of a feline-biased upbringing give me a dog any day

pablo_escobar

i knew someone would argue that...

the point is, cats will mark their territory while also putting people's health at risk.

no way could you have a cat on a farm without risking the health of your livestock.

you may as well keep rats on the farm.

cats might look 'cute' and behave 'funny' but they're deadly.

search online for deaths by cats, you'll see it's common.

ejmaztec

Only out and out boggers don't like cats, mainly due to their cat-loving ancestors getting burned at the stake 500 years ago. Witches always had hairy pussies.

galwayrush

I don't know anyone who hates cats.

pablo_escobar

i'm not a 'bogger'

let's talk about the psychology of cat lovers shall we?

we've all heard of 'crazy cat ladies'

GLaDOS

pablo_escobar wrote: »

i knew someone would argue that...

the point is, cats will mark their territory while also putting people's health at risk.

no way could you have a cat on a farm without risking the health of your livestock.

you may as well keep rats on the farm.

cats might look 'cute' and behave 'funny' but they're deadly.

search online for deaths by cats, you'll see it's common.

And there's never any deaths related to dogs at all?

And cats are useful on the farm, historically and in modern times: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm_cat

Kiera

galwayrush wrote: »

I don't know anyone who hates cats.

Hi, my name is Kiera. Pleased to meet you.

I hate cats.

Now you know one person :P

galwayrush

Kiera wrote: »

Hi, my name is Kiera. Pleased to meet you.

I hate cats.

Now you know one person :P

I should have added...........'without a good reason'................;)

pablo_escobar

ScienceNerd wrote: »

And there's never any deaths related to dogs at all?

And cats are useful on the farm, historically and in modern times: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm_cat

there are problems with that wikipedia entry, lack of references..

i don't hate cats but i wouldn't keep them around the house.

GLaDOS

pablo_escobar wrote: »

there are problems with that wikipedia entry, lack of references..

i don't hate cats but i wouldn't keep them around the house.

The British journal of Animal Behaviour good enough for you?

pablo_escobar

cats might kill mice but they wouldn't be able to take on an adult rat.

http://www.pest-free.net/pnov04mckinzie.pdf

galwayrush

pablo_escobar wrote: »

cats might kill mice but they wouldn't be able to take on an adult rat.

http://www.pest-free.net/pnov04mckinzie.pdf

Mine did, she attacked an adult rat, but the rat was getting the better of her, so she lay on her back and played dead, the rat climbed on top of her, big mistake, suddenly she lashed out with 4 claws and the rat was disembowled...........

Mr Benevolent

I like cats. They roast well with some oregano and a little olive oil.

Serious answer: I like cats.

Archeron

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

My cats breath smells like cat food.

I have NEVER had this problem with my dogs, thats why I prefer them.

I dont hate cats though, I can see why some people keep them as pets, I just wouldn't.

Mr Benevolent

Archeron wrote: »

I have NEVER had this problem with my dogs, thats why I prefer them.

That's because you're not feeding your dogs cat food.

TemptationWaits

Cats are way better than dogs! In Ireland most people prefer dogs because most of the population live in houses as opposed to apartments, so have the room to keep a dog.

But yeah, it does seem much more acceptable to say I hate cats as opposed to I hate dogs!

Marcus.Aurelius

Self-absorbed and loyalty-free.

I've always wondered, why do cat owners bother? How do they deal with the lack of emotional feedback? Maybe they're not occupied with such thoughts.

I for one have always found dogs rewarding and have always been delighted by their loyalty and intellect. My neighbour's cat was as clever as the next feline, but completely outwitted day in and day out by a very agile staffordshire bull terrier. (No nasty fights, just a quick chase, nip and release, the dog won 99% of the time)

View Profile

I've had both cats and a dog. They both serve different purposes. The cat can be quite mischievous and cheeky which is funny. Its easier to look after than the dog and can entertain itself especially if you are away for a few days.

I have a few friends who say they hate cats but they have never owned one or been close to one. And to be honest who gives a sh|te if the cat isnt loyal to you like a dog. A goldfish , hamster, budgie or snake are no more loyal.
Anyway the question isnt asking which is better, dogs or cats, its why do irish people dislike them!

Maybe its due to allergies, close mindedness and some deep rooted emotional need to be loved by everyone and everything.

newmug

PanchoVilla wrote: »

You know what the bubonic plague was? You know why it spread so fast? Because superstitious Christians used to kill cats, which led to a massive increase in rat populations. These rats were everywhere and spread the plague like wildfire. Want to reconsider your statement?

Ridiculous.

Misanthrope wrote: »

Would you prefer 177 lollipops or 22 lollipops if say, you were going to ......... a lollipop festival or something?;)

Or would u bring "skittles"?

22 lollipops all the way for me, main reason is cos I only have a 22 lollipop dispenser, not a 117. Skittles? As in 12 Gauges of skittles? Have fed them to cats when I had to, messy though. Wouldn't recommend it.

Shenshen wrote: »

I suspect that people who don't keep their cat exclusively indoors still let it inside for food and shelter...

I can never understand how anyone would let ANY animal indoors. Its just not right. Reminds me of a story - One morning, going to work, I open the back door and 4 fcukin young cats try to burst in. I managed to shoo 3 of them away, but one vile fcuker got in. He ran under the couch, up the curtains, across the table knocking a few things as he went, everywhere! I couldnt get him. Eventually he made a burst for the back door, back to the outside. My back door is glass nearly all the way to the bottom, he lambasted himself off it! I was fuming at this dirty cretin, so I picked him up by the tail to throw him out. While I was carrying him out, he was all "meow, meow", real nice and cute like, as if to say "i'm only a poor lickle kitty, pweeeeze let me go". I was just about to, when he revealed his true intentions, and started hissing and spitting and clawing at my leg. Well, I had reached my limit, and I drop-kicked the fcuker ala Ronan O'Gara. He spun through the air head over tail, probably saw Dublin from his altitude, and came down head first on a window-sill at the far end of the house. I felt bad for doing it the minute my foot made contact, but they're exactly the buttons cats press when they behave the way they do, and thats the consequences. Needless to say all 9 of his lives evaporated instantly. I felt bad afterwards, and I still do. Obviously, it was me and my mindset that was at fault, not the dumb animal. So OP, reading this, compare it to what you would have done and how you would have behaved. Maybe it will give you an insight into the thinking behind why people hate them so much.

GLaDOS

Caesar Augustus wrote: »

Self-absorbed and loyalty-free.

I've always wondered, why do cat owners bother? How do they deal with the lack of emotional feedback? Maybe they're not occupied with such thoughts.

It's not a problem that occurs, my cats are very affectionate, have you ever owned a cat?

Marcus.Aurelius

ScienceNerd wrote: »

It's not a problem that occurs, my cats are very affectionate, have you ever owned a cat?

Not one of my own, but lived in a house where the owner had a cat. I always liked the cat, somewhat affectionate in the way it would stay with you if you were watching tv or having a snooze.

I knew the whole time though that if I was to get up I was replaced by the next victim. Cats are floozies, just their nature. Some have a kind of affection for their owners, but I always thought it severely limited by their natural self-interest. Call me backward, but I always preferred the dog, it might be less graceful and more difficult to care for, but I've always found them far more rewarding and intelligent. I do know there are breeds of dog that are far less intelligent than the average moggy, and have never owned those breeds anyway.

Sardonicat

newmug wrote: »

Ridiculous.




22 lollipops all the way for me, main reason is cos I only have a 22 lollipop dispenser, not a 117. Skittles? As in 12 Gauges of skittles? Have fed them to cats when I had to, messy though. Wouldn't recommend it.





I can never understand how anyone would let ANY animal indoors. Its just not right. Reminds me of a story - One morning, going to work, I open the back door and 4 fcukin young cats try to burst in. I managed to shoo 3 of them away, but one vile fcuker got in. He ran under the couch, up the curtains, across the table knocking a few things as he went, everywhere! I couldnt get him. Eventually he made a burst for the back door, back to the outside. My back door is glass nearly all the way to the bottom, he lambasted himself off it! I was fuming at this dirty cretin, so I picked him up by the tail to throw him out. While I was carrying him out, he was all "meow, meow", real nice and cute like, as if to say "i'm only a poor lickle kitty, pweeeeze let me go". I was just about to, when he revealed his true intentions, and started hissing and spitting and clawing at my leg. Well, I had reached my limit, and I drop-kicked the fcuker ala Ronan O'Gara. He spun through the air head over tail, probably saw Dublin from his altitude, and came down head first on a window-sill at the far end of the house. I felt bad for doing it the minute my foot made contact, but they're exactly the buttons cats press when they behave the way they do, and thats the consequences. Needless to say all 9 of his lives evaporated instantly. I felt bad afterwards, and I still do. Obviously, it was me and my mindset that was at fault, not the dumb animal. So OP, reading this, compare it to what you would have done and how you would have behaved. Maybe it will give you an insight into the thinking behind why people hate them so much.

You pick an animal up by the tail and wonder why it started hissing at you? And then you kick it into the air and kill it? An animal behaving like an animal is not trying to "press any buttons". A human behaving like an animal has no excuses.

Dudess

Fully agree with the OP - and people here say sh1t about what they've done to them or would do to them that would cause M50-like traffic on the Reported Posts section if it were in relation to dogs.
If you don't like cats, you don't like cats, but some of the reasons for the dislike here are so piss-poor. Certainly piss-poor for hatred, if not dislike. They smell bad? There have been cats in my parents' house since I was tiny and not one of them even had a smell, let alone a bad smell, whereas dogs can stink. I love dogs too btw but I get annoyed by pure fallacies and misunderstandings in relation to cats. A dislike of them because they're not affectionate - really? Get to know a cat before making that call because it's bullsh1t. Sure, they're more guarded than dogs, but once they trust you, they are exceptionally affectionate.
And they're useless? Not when they kill rats and mice.
They're also way cleaner than dogs, who can be pretty darn filthy. And that's fine - they can't help it... just like cats can't help the apparently awful things they're capable of. It's silly to ascribe human traits to them and make expectations accordingly (the same goes for dogs, even the positive stuff - note to anyone who puts clothes on their dogs: they ****ing hate it) - cats can be disloyal, sure... but they don't know how to be any other way, they're not humans.

That said, I can understand someone having a fear or dislike of them due to a bad childhood experience - it's not fully logical to apply this to all cats, but a lot of fears aren't fully logical. People can overcome such fears though. A friend of mine hated dogs because of being bitten as a kid but now loves them after getting a puppy. My gran is afraid of cats but a kitten wandered into her backyard a few years ago, and despite her giving out about him, you could tell she was becoming smitten - always ensuring he had a warm place to sleep and enough to eat.

Sanjuro wrote: »

Boards.ie aside, where have you heard this in such quantity that you think Irish people pathologically hate cats? I'm no cat-lover. I'm a dog person. But I've never met anyone who actually hates cats. I think you're making a generalization. And a grossly inaccurate one at that.

Plenty of people have told me they hate cats.

sonic85

demanufactured wrote: »

It seems to come from farmer folk and boggers who live in the sticks who like to kill everything that moves..

Cats are cool , i have 6 of them

crazy cat person? :pac: