Cat fancy describes the subculture [1] [2] that surrounds cat lovers and their hobbies involving the appreciation, promotion, showing, or breeding of cats. Animal fanciers of cats may refer to themselves as "cat people", "cat fanciers", or "cat lovers". The term "cat culture" has also been used, [3] though is ambiguous. [lower-alpha 1]
Cat fanciers often wear clothing that identifies the wearer as a cat person. [5] Some of them use cat puns such as meowvalous for 'marvelous', and paw some for 'awesome', among many others. [6] Cat terms such as "porrect" have been used in article titles such as CBS Sacramento's article about two cats living alone in a Silicon Valley studio. [7] According to a 2013 article by Psychology Today , self-identified cat people have more unusual and distinctive personality traits than dog people. The article also speculates that due to the sensitive nature of cats, some people of a similar nature would feel an affinity with cats. [8]
In Pasadena, California, there is a cat festival called CatCon Worldwide. [9] In 2018, the POP Cats Convention was held in Austin, Texas. [10] There is a cat-themed cruise in the US (operating out of both Florida and Alaska), named Meow Meow Cruise, on which cat lovers can meet people with the same interest and have cat-themed parties. [11]
In Morocco, cats are an inherent part of the country's culture. A 2018 article by Morocco World News suggested that people visiting there could think that the Moroccan person-to-cat ratio is fairly close to 1:1. Many Moroccans are said to love cats, and around the cities are piles of food and water trays left for the cats. [12]
Cat Nation, a film by Tim Delmastro about cat fancy in Japan, features Chris Broad, a British YouTube personality. Broad made his way across the country where he documented the numerous strange and interesting cat-centric activities, including cat bars, cat temples, cat islands, and cat cafés. [13]
Singapore has many cat lovers, cat cafés, and a cat museum. It had its first cat festival in 2018. [14]
Cat subculture has transferred to and been amplified by the Internet, where it now flourishes. [15] Cats, especially in the form of LOLcats, have long been a staple of Internet meme pictures. Cat fans often engage in a "Caturday" pastime (which originated on 4chan) of posting cat pictures on social media on Saturdays. There are numerous websites devoted to cats, such as The Catnip Times [16] and The Purrington Post . [17] There are many online cat-themed games, such as Cat-Opoly which is based on the board game Monopoly ; players buy cats instead of properties. [18] [19] [20]
The Maine Coon is a large domesticated cat breed. It is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America. The breed originated in the U.S. state of Maine, where it is the official state cat.
The Scottish Fold is a distinctive breed of domestic cat characterised by a natural dominant gene mutation associated with osteochondrodysplasia. This genetic anomaly affects cartilage throughout the body, causing the ears to "fold", bending forward and down towards the front of the head. While this trait contributes to the breed's unique appearance, often described as "owl-like", it has negative effects on the cats' welfare.
The Himalayan, is a breed or sub-breed of long-haired cat similar in type to the Persian, with the exception of its blue eyes and its point colouration, which were derived from crossing the Persian with the Siamese. Some registries may classify the Himalayan as a long-haired sub-breed of Siamese, or a colorpoint sub-breed of Persian. The World Cat Federation has merged them with the Colorpoint Shorthair and Javanese into a single breed, the Colorpoint.
The Havana Brown was the result of a planned breeding between Siamese and domestic black cats, by a group of cat fanciers in England, in the 1950s. Early breeders introduced a Siamese type Russian Blue into their breeding. However, using current genetic testing, it is believed that almost none remain in the gene pool.
The Siberian is a centuries-old landrace of domestic cat in Russia, and recently developed as a formal breed with standards promulgated the world over since the late-1980s. Since 2006, the breed is recognised for registry and championship status with all major cat registries.
The Singapura is the smallest breed of cat, noted for its large eyes and ears, ticked coat, and blunt tail. Reportedly established from three "drain cats" imported from Singapore in the 1970s, it was later revealed that the cats were originally sent to Singapore from the United States before being exported back to the US. Investigations by the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) concluded that no wrongdoing had occurred and the Singapura kept its status as a natural breed.
The Turkish Angora is a breed of domestic cat. Turkish Angoras are one of the ancient, natural breeds of cat, having originated in central Anatolia. The breed has been documented as early as the 17th century. Outside of the United States, the breed is usually referred to as simply the Angora or Ankara cat. These cats have slender and elegant bodies.
Cat Fancy was a popular North American monthly magazine dedicated to cats, owners of cats, and breeders of cats. It was originally published by Fancy Publications later named BowTie Inc., sold to Lumina Media in 2013, and shortly thereafter to I-5 Publishing.
A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular or mixed breed. Most black cats have golden irises due to their high melanin pigment content. Black cats are the subject of myth, legend, and superstition. They are often associated with witches and good or bad luck in European folklore.
Meow Mix is a variety of dry and wet cat food known for its advertising jingle. It is a product of The J.M. Smucker Company as of March 23, 2015. Meow Mix was introduced in 1974 and sells many flavors, including "Original Choice" and "Seafood Medley". It also is known for selling "Alley Cat" dry cat food. Their current slogan is "it's the only brand cats ask for by name".
Dog World was a monthly magazine aimed at the community of serious dog enthusiasts and participants, including breeders; conformation exhibitors; obedience, agility, herding, and field trial competitors; veterinarians; groomers; and trainers. The magazine is owned by BowTie, Inc. The first issue was published in January 1916, and the final issue was published in September 2012.
A meow or miaow is a cat vocalization. Meows may have diverse tones in terms of their sound, and what is heard can vary from being chattered to calls, murmurs, and whispers. Adult cats rarely meow to each other. Thus, an adult cat meowing to human beings is generally considered a post-domestication extension of meowing by kittens: a call for attention. Felines usually communicate with each other via their shared sense of smell, yet with people they often make verbal cues around behavior, such as having a specific sound indicate a desire to go outside.
A cat café is a theme café whose attraction is cats who can be watched and played with. Patrons pay a cover fee, generally hourly, and thus cat cafés can be seen as a form of supervised indoor pet rental.
National Cat Day is celebrated in various countries. In some areas it is an awareness day to raise public awareness of cat adoption.
Images and videos of domestic cats make up some of the most viewed content on the World Wide Web. ThoughtCatalog has described cats as the "unofficial mascot of the Internet".
Purrington's Cat Lounge was a cat café and shelter in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The establishment billed itself as "the first cat cafe and adoption center in the Pacific Northwest". Purrington's was the first cat cafe in Oregon and among the first in North America.
Kedi is a 2016 Turkish documentary film directed by Ceyda Torun about the many stray cats that live in Istanbul. It premiered at the !f Istanbul Independent Film Festival on 21 February 2016 before being given a North American theatrical release on 10 February 2017. It debuted on the YouTube Red streaming service on 10 May 2017. It was released on DVD in the US on 14 November 2017. The film received critical acclaim, and grossed over $5 million. Time magazine listed it as one of its top ten films of 2017.
Gabby's Dollhouse is an American live-action/computer-animated interactive preschool television series created by Blue's Clues veterans Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey for Netflix which first premiered on January 5, 2021. In the series, Gabby and her cat friends called the Gabby Cats go on adventures inside the dollhouse.
A film about Japan's crazy cat culture.