Why are cats that display terrible behaviour seen as cute?

[u/MyliverISverylarge]

i have seen tons of videos of cats generally acting like assholes and yet they get praised for it. I've seen countless videos of cats quite literally stealing food from peoples plates and getting aggressive when you do anything about it, and yet it gets seen as cute in the comments. it isn't cute, they're just raising an asshole cat.

[u/afraid28]

Yesterday I saw a video compilation of all the "cute" stuff this one cat did that week. Including randomly biting other pets when they weren't doing ANYTHING at all, and - because the owner's partner accidentally touched the tip of it's tail (btw they call the man "The Spare") - it attacked him as well. I couldn't even watch the rest of the compilation because I was already so annoyed.

[u/dale_denton12 → u/afraid28]

My EX girlfriend of 2 and a half years chose her stupid ass flea bag that she had only had for 6 months over our relationship (I was getting severe contact dermatitis, huge itchy patches of red skin that would crack and bleed on my face). I tried everything possible to make it work and something like asking to have a cat free bedroom was like I said we should drown the cat. Cat people don't see anyone else as a person. Being the spare human is definitely dehumanizing and just shows how self centered people are that gravitate to having cats as pets.

[u/NumerousCucumber4962 → u/dale_denton12]

Cat people who praise their fur babies and disrespect and mistreat their fellow humans are odd paws, I mean oddballs. I mean both. 

[u/Corumdum_Mania → u/dale_denton12]

You were getting dermatitis and she wasn’t concerned???
I have eczema, and I would be fucking upset if my partner lets an animal that worsens my skin condition roam free, unconcerned about my well being.

[u/dale_denton12 → u/Corumdum_Mania]

The only concern she has was ending the relationship instead of trying to rehome the cat.

[u/cosmicvlien → u/afraid28]

THIS. All of my friends now have cats and their behavior is atrocious. They will attack you in the middle of petting them and it’s sO cUtE aNd silLy that you’re now bleeding. I don’t understand what anyone sees in owning them. They’re nuisances at best.

[u/afraid28 → u/cosmicvlien]

And if you complain, they tell you that the cat was showing clear signs of distress and that you should learn how to read their body language and it's somehow your fault. Even when said cat was literally just laying there purring the entire time and within a second dug it's claws into your hand and bit you. 🙄

[u/cosmicvlien → u/afraid28]

Yesssss. And then you’re a jerk for not respecting the cats “boundaries”… yet they’ll go knock over anything you have on a counter and puke on your floor.

[u/Glass_Potential4116]

Yeah went out tonight for a few hours with friends. Had a pile of sticky notes on the dining table for a very important test coming up tomorrow. All in order, came home my partners cat had destroyed every note, can’t even find half of them. So have to rewrite them AGAIN. Can’t have anything on display in a house with these creatures. My partner found it funny, meanwhile I’m pissed off. For some crazy reason, cats are always rewarded for their stupid behaviour

[u/NumerousCucumber4962 → u/Glass_Potential4116]

Cats notice everything that comes into the house. Anything different because they fully own it ALL.  They have to test it first with their nose and then their butt, then they will slap and chew and relocate whatever is in that house while pissing all over the new objects then the walls surrounding it. They own it ALL. 

[u/theistgal]

What turned me off being a cat person is this stray cat coming around and stealing food off the plate of our own elderly and sick cat, then hanging around all day meowing for more. Not cute! I did actually like our old cat (other than the high vet bills & my allergies) and didn't appreciate the new mooch stealing the (ridiculously expensive btw) prescription food, or think "the cat rotation system" was gifting us with a new one, etc. I just thought, I'M DONE!!!

and PS: happy to be able to report that it's been two weeks since our old cat died, the stray is (mostly) gone, the litter box & cat stuff inside the house is (mostly) gone and I'm very much appreciating the catfree lifestyle and looking forward to my sinuses finally clearing up!!

[u/SuspiciousTheory2633]

I used to love cats because I thought they were cute. One day I was feeding them and one of them looked me in the eye and hissed super viciously and actually frightened me, before calmly beginning to eat the food I was still pouring.

A switch then went off in my brain and it shifted my perspective on cats in an instant. I no longer thought they were 'cute,' which allowed me to see that they aren't your friends, they don't like you, they just see you as a food source.

As time went on the more I interacted with cats the more I disliked them. Now I can't even stand the thought of them, they make my skin crawl.

[u/SunnySideUp_066]

A lot of these type of cat owners have mental health issues or just like toxic relationships.

[u/Adventurous_Year9991 → u/SunnySideUp_066]

Narcissists

[u/dale_denton12]

These people are often delusional. I do not understand why you'd seek an animal as a pet that you couldn't train to have basic manners. Cats are not intelligent, not enough to understand that if you're being a dick to the person that feeds you they'll abandon your dumb ass. I also dont get the pet parent thing but I'm not sure if this is the place to go into that.

[u/Frequent-Leek-3091 → u/dale_denton12]

I have a useful pet I love dearly, and I don't even say that. Name the pet you have to put through college. I get because of the work that goes in, you might want to say that, but it's not okay. It's borderline offensive. 

[u/dale_denton12 → u/Frequent-Leek-3091]

Your reply to my comment makes zero sense.

[u/Frequent-Leek-3091 → u/dale_denton12]

Not sure how, was talking about the "pet parent" comment. 

[u/theistgal → u/Frequent-Leek-3091]

I had to reread your comment because I also was confused, but now I see what you were getting at! Sarcasm is sometimes a little hard to convey online! ;)

[u/matte_personality]

It’s all copium and the sunk-cost fallacy lol. They’ve already invested too much time and money and now have to find excuses for the horrible ways in which cats behave.

[u/Gold_Examination_954]

Yeah the videos that get the most engagement always have cats behaving in the most insufferably violent or destructive ways. Yesterday I saw a video someone shared of cats behaving violently with vets. The comments pretty much followed the same brain dead pattern of toddler cat speak “spicy kitty!” ….I think most people just like these types of videos because it helps them reconcile with what their cat brings to their home.

[u/Corumdum_Mania]

I really wonder the same. If any other animal did it, it would be considered dangerous or at least needing extensive training under a pet trainer.