Are You Considered By Some to Be a Crazy Cat Lover or Animal Hugger?

Jackson Galaxy Considered by Some to be a Crazy Animal Hugger

If you are a young man and you love cats and perhaps you love all animals then you might be considered to be a crazy cat lover or crazy animal hugger by some people.  Jackson Galaxy says that he is considered to be a crazy animal hugger by some people in the USA (click on the link above to read more about that).  He is not your archetypal cat lover based on appearance which is why he breaks down barriers. He breaks down the stereotypical image of a person who likes animals and cats. This is his great asset I think.

Cat lovers are creative people. Poster by Ruth aka Kattaddorra

What I mean is his appearance is his great asset because when you combine his appearance with the fact that he is a well-known cat behaviourist and “animal hugger" then you have a potent mix which is highly effective and which draws people in who would otherwise not necessary be that interested in animal welfare.

The stereotype is that older women, particularly independent and intelligent women, are cat lovers. The other stereotype is that the younger man or the family man is a dog lover.

If you like animals a lot then people who don't understand can unjustifiably criticise you.  However, I don't think that a person who loves animals would criticise a person who does not love animals.  I think that people who care about animal welfare are generally better people and they tend to be more polite and therefore will not be aggressive towards people who are different.  Conversely, the people who are aggressive towards people concerned about animal welfare can tend to be more aggressive anyway.  Am I stereotyping people myself?  I'm not sure but that is how it looks to me sometimes.

It is surprising that such a well-known cat behaviourist with his own television channel in the USA is criticised and insulted by people who call him a crazy animal hugger.  This is what Jackson himself says happens sometimes.

On a more optimistic note, however, he does say that there is an ongoing general shift in attitude towards animal welfare among Americans in America.  He believes - and he is well placed to assess this - that Americans are becoming more sensitive towards animal welfare, which means of course that Jackson will become more mainstream and criticised less!  What a good thing that would be. Perhaps this trend will translate into less declawing of cats and less wild cat species as pets.  There are too many pet wild cats in America.  They are unsuited.