If You Have Done Enough Of These 10 Things To Your Cats You Just Might Be A Crazy Cat Person
Some cat people stop at treats and toys, while others end up building an entire lifestyle around their pets. That line can get blurry fast, especially when the cat starts running the house and the human starts happily letting it happen.
This list rounds up ten classic cat-parent habits, from birthday parties and fancy outfits to full conversations and a cat seat at the dinner table. None of it is exactly rare, but taken together, it starts to look a lot like full-on feline devotion.
If a few of these sound familiar, you may already know where you stand. Read on.
1. Celebrating Your Cat's Birthday
In all fairness, many pet parents from across the pet-owning spectrum celebrate either their pet's birthday or "gotcha day." It's a great thing to celebrate your beloved pets; it's not inherently bad or weird to celebrate their birthdays!
At the same time, some people can take things a little too far with birthday celebrations. Honestly, that's also okay. You only live once, and even if cats have nine lives, they deserve to know how special they are at least once a year (not that they don't know, with their entire being, that they're the best thing gifted to the universe.)
We've even spent some time assembling a collection of cats celebrating their birthdays if you're unsure where on the weirdo spectrum this activity sits. It's really not that weird.
2. You Spend Money On Toys They'll Never Use
Most cats love to play as much as they love to sleep, although they play much less than they sleep! It's easy to go overboard on buying toys for our beloved feline friends, especially because they make some seriously cool toys for cats.
They make big toys, small toys, sparkly toys, self-propelling toys, and catnip-holding toys. They make extravagant towers for cats to climb, hide, play, and sleep in. And yet... sometimes all your cat wants to play with is your laser light keychain or a leaf.
Does that stop any of us from spoiling our cats rotten? Never! We even have tons of proof of that.
3. You Never Leave The House Without Kissing Your Cat Goodbye
Let's just get this out of the way quickly: if you don't properly say goodbye to your cat before you leave, what are you doing with your life? C'mon!
Our cats are family, after all, so it's certainly important to greet them as you come and offer goodbyes as you go. So this better be a guaranteed point on your "Am I A Crazy Cat Person" checklist.
4. You Let Them Take Up The Bed, Even When You Need To Sleep
Sharing a bed with a cat is no small task. Cats know where they belong, and it's not in that fancy cat bed you bought; it's on that memory foam mattress with you.
If they're not purring on your chest or smothering you in your sleep (intentionally or unintentionally, comme ci, comme ça), they're taking up as much space as is humanly possible. Seriously, how is it possible? We have no clue.
Either way, your level of cat craziness may depend on how accommodating you are to your cat's need to take up space. Only time will tell as we work our way through the checklist.
5. Shower Them With Love, Even When They've Done Something Horrible
Alright, this is something cat people are particularly guilty of. We have dedicated an exorbitant amount of time to celebrating our cats behaving like jerks.
There's an entire subreddit called r/CatsAreAssholes, and it's one of the greatest, most hysterical places on the Internet because if there's anything cat folks are consistent about, it's loving the mischief and absurd behavior our cats dish out on a regular basis. Seriously, we've written countless articles about just how much of a jerk any particular cat can be and how much we love them despite it.
Chances are, you're just as guilty as the cat daddy before you and the cat lady after you, so don't deny it. Embrace it.
It’s like the cat owner who used “nasty” terms of endearment, and got other pet parents sharing their furballs’ offensive nicknames in this nickname drama.
6. Bought Them Designer Clothes Whether They Wear Them Or Not
There's no shortage of controversy in cat communities about putting cats in clothes, but that has literally never, ever stopped a crazy cat person from buying clothes for their cats, and it probably never will. Do cats belong in clothes? Who cares.
Okay, don't torture your cats if they hate clothes, but some cats LOVE clothes (especially naked cats like the Sphynx!) There are all kinds of fun and interesting ways to dress up cats (have you heard of such-a-punk pets?) that might produce more enthusiasm from the cat themselves, but we know deep down inside that if you're as cat crazed as you're worried you might be, you'll buy your cat clothes whether they'll wear them enthusiastically or not.
It can't be helped; you have high hopes for a fashionable catto, and it's not that weird! This 18-year-old cat named Steve cries if he doesn't get to wear his sweaters.
7. You've Blown Off Plans To Hang With Your Cat
Who needs a social life? Not necessarily everyone with a cat, that's for sure.
Maybe you're an introvert, or maybe you just generally detest people and prefer the company of cats; either way, it may be crossing a line to abandon plans for the sole purpose of hanging out with your kitties. Or so "they" want us to believe.
Who cares? Cats are the best kind of company.
8. You Have Full-Blown Conversations With Your Cat
When it comes to understanding animal intelligence, scientists have dedicated considerable effort to comprehending how intelligent domesticated animals like cats and dogs truly are. Cats are often recognized for their intelligence, being capable of understanding much of what we say, although they may not always show interest. Interestingly, research indicates that cats can comprehend approximately 25 to 35 words while being able to produce around 100 different vocalizations. All that said, it's perfectly acceptable to talk to your cat. People naturally want to converse with their feline companions, and we've developed various methods to enhance that interaction over time. In 2020, an innovative app was created to translate cat meows, and a cat named Billi learned how to communicate using push buttons, demonstrating contextual understanding. If it's unusual to have conversations with our cats, it's a quirk that many cat parents embrace wholeheartedly.
9. Your Cat Has A Seat At The Dinner Table
Cast all the hysterical memes aside and your cat's intentions to do whatever the heck they want; it's not particularly typical to suggest that a cat should have their own seat at the dinner table (despite what they may yell at you). So, if you're one of those families... you're a large step closer to being officially cat-crazed.
Some cats might have specific behavioral ways of insisting on sitting at the table. If you're the one inviting them and making a habit of including them, you're doing just fine... it's just not necessarily normal. To heck with normal, though, right?
10. You Have A Room Specifically For Your Cat
Does your cat have their own room? You're probably a crazy cat person.
It's not unheard of for people to treat their dogs like babies, but giving a cat their own special space is definitely a thing, too. However, it's not nearly as common, and it's bordering on extraordinary.
Giving your cat their own room is most surely in crazy cat person territory.
How did you stack up? Are you officially a crazy cat person? You're not alone, don't worry. You're welcome and loved in the cat-crazed community.
If you ignore cat-care basics, you’ll see the best and worst-case scenarios in this guide to the consequences of neglecting top cat care tips.
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