# Cat lady

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Cultural archetype of a woman who owns many cats

For other uses, see [Cat lady (disambiguation)](/source/Cat_lady_(disambiguation)).

A woman feeding cats in [Rome](/source/Rome)

A **cat lady** is a cultural [archetype](/source/Archetype) or [stock character](/source/Stock_character), most often depicted as a middle-aged or elderly [spinster](/source/Spinster) or [widow](/source/Widow), who has many [cats](/source/Cat). The term may be [pejorative](/source/Pejorative), or it may be affectionately embraced.

## Usage and association

*The old woman and her cats*, 1811 by [Samuel Howitt](/source/Samuel_Howitt)

Women who have cats have long been associated with the concept of [spinsterhood](/source/Spinster), [widowhood](/source/Widow) or even [witchcraft](/source/Witchcraft). In more recent decades, the concept of a cat lady has been associated with "romance-challenged (often career-oriented) women".[1] The term "cat lady" has also been used as a pejorative term towards women [without children](/source/Childlessness), regardless of if they actually own cats.[2][3]

Depending on context, the ordinarily pejorative word "crazy" may be prepended to "cat lady" to indicate either a [pejorative](/source/Pejorative)[1] or a humorous and affectionate label.[4] Some writers, celebrities, and artists have challenged the gender-based "Crazy Cat Lady" stereotype, and embraced the term to mean an animal lover or rescuer who cares for one or multiple cats, and who is psychologically healthy.[5][6][7] Naftali Berrill, Ph.D., Director of the New York Center for [Neuropsychology](/source/Neuropsychology) and Forensic Behavioral Science, told AOL Health, "These may be people who have a very hard time expressing themselves to other people. They may find the human need for affection is met most easily through a relationship with a pet." This devotion can sometimes signal mental or emotional issues such as depression.[8] A cat lady may also be an [animal hoarder](/source/Animal_hoarding) who keeps large numbers of cats without having the ability to properly house or care for them.[9]

## *Toxoplasma gondii*

Some studies indicate a link between the parasite *[Toxoplasma gondii](/source/Toxoplasma_gondii)*, which sexually reproduces exclusively in cats, and numerous psychiatric conditions, including [obsessive compulsive disorder](/source/Obsessive_compulsive_disorder) (OCD) and [schizophrenia](/source/Schizophrenia),[10][11] whereas other studies have shown that *T. gondii* is not a causative factor in later psychoses.[12][13] The [compulsive hoarding](/source/Compulsive_hoarding) of cats, a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), has been associated with "crazy cat ladies".[14] [Crazy cat-lady syndrome](/source/Toxoplasmosis#Society_and_culture) is a term coined by news organizations to describe scientific findings that link *Toxoplasma gondii* to several [mental disorders](/source/Mental_disorders) and behavioral problems.[10][15]

## Notable examples

- [Edith Ewing Bouvier](/source/Edith_Ewing_Bouvier) and her daughter [Edith Bouvier Beale](/source/Edith_Bouvier_Beale) had many cats living with them in their decrepit home [Grey Gardens](/source/Grey_Gardens_(estate)). Reportedly, some 30 cats lived in the house by the time [Little Edie](/source/Little_Edie) sold it in 1979.[16]

- Bertha Rand was [Winnipeg](/source/Winnipeg)'s notorious Cat Lady, who for years battled her neighbours and [city hall](/source/Town_hall#Language) to save her dozens of cats; even years after her death, she still holds a place in Canadian popular culture.[17] The [Venetian Snares](/source/Venetian_Snares) song *For Bertha Rand*, from the 2001 album *Songs About My Cats*, pays homage to her, and [Maureen Hunter](/source/Maureen_Hunter)'s play *The Queen of Queen Street* is based on Rand's life.[18]

- In a 2021 interview on *[Fox & Friends](/source/Fox_%26_Friends)*, then-senator, future 2024 Republican vice presidential candidate, and future vice president [JD Vance](/source/JD_Vance) called the leadership of the country "a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives", and explicitly mentioned [Kamala Harris](/source/Kamala_Harris), [Pete Buttigieg](/source/Pete_Buttigieg) and [Alexandria Ocasio Cortez](/source/Alexandria_Ocasio_Cortez).[19] He later received some negative reaction for the comment.[20]

- Celebrity [Taylor Swift](/source/Taylor_Swift) has referred to herself as a cat lady on multiple occasions. In an [Instagram](/source/Instagram) post endorsing Democratic presidential candidate [Kamala Harris](/source/Kamala_Harris) in the [2024 United States presidential election](/source/2024_United_States_presidential_election), Swift signed the post off referring to herself as "Childless Cat Lady" in reference to Vance's comment.[21]

## See also

- [Cat people and dog people](/source/Cat_people_and_dog_people)

- [Pet humanization](/source/Pet_humanization)

- [Think Think and Ah Tsai](/source/Think_Think_and_Ah_Tsai)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Forbes_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Forbes_1-1) Blakeley, Kiri (15 October 2009). ["Crazy Cat Ladies"](https://www.forbes.com/2009/10/14/crazy-cat-lady-pets-stereotype-forbes-woman-time-felines.html). *Forbes*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Opinion | How JD Vance plans to punish childless Americans"](https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/jd-vances-childless-cat-lady-comment-isnt-even-worst-rcna164288). *MSNBC.com*. 1 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["The Weird Intellectual Roots of J.D. Vance's Hatred for "Cat Ladies""](https://newrepublic.com/article/184475/jd-vance-hates-childless-cat-ladies). *The New Republic*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0028-6583](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0028-6583). Retrieved 3 August 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-timesunion.com_4-0)** Ramirez, Mark (5 August 2009). ["Do you believe in the Crazy Cat Lady?"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131203013716/http://blog.timesunion.com/mydogbandit/do-you-believe-in-the-crazy-cat-lady/2080/). *TimesUnion.com*. Archived from [the original](http://blog.timesunion.com/mydogbandit/do-you-believe-in-the-crazy-cat-lady/2080/) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Gostin, Nicki (15 September 2015). ["Beth Ostrosky Stern: I am a crazy cat lady... and I'm proud of it"](https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/beth-ostrosky-stern-crazy-cat-lady-article-1.2361539). *NYDailyNews.com*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["It's time to smash the 'crazy cat lady' stereotype"](https://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/its-time-to-smash-the-crazy-cat-lady-stereotype). *MNN - Mother Nature Network*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Williams, David. ["Meet the Men Proud to Be Crazy Cat Ladies"](https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/photos/meet-men-proud-crazy-cat-ladies-29245631/image-29246901). *ABC News*. Retrieved 12 November 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-huso_8-0)** Huso, Deborah (November 2009). ["Some Live Among Hundreds of Cats"](https://web.archive.org/web/20091119071209/http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/mental-health/cat-lady). *AOL Health*. Archived from [the original](http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/mental-health/cat-lady) on 19 November 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Davis, Susan; Flaherty (illus.), Jake (September 2002). ["Prosecuting Animal Hoarders is like Herding Cats"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100529081942/http://www.tufts.edu/vet/hoarding/pubs/herdingcats.pdf) (PDF). *California Lawyer*: 26, 28, 29, 67. Archived from [the original](http://www.tufts.edu/vet/hoarding/pubs/herdingcats.pdf) (PDF) on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2011.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-The_Atlantic_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-The_Atlantic_10-1) McAuliffe, Kathleen (6 February 2012). ["How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy"](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/308873/). *The Atlantic*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20130603010600/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/308873/) from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Webster, Joanne P.; Kaushik, Maya; Bristow, Greg C.; McConkey, Glenn A. (1 January 2013). ["Toxoplasma gondii infection, from predation to schizophrenia: Can animal behaviour help us understand human behaviour?"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3515034). *The Journal of Experimental Biology*. **216** (1): 99–112. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1242/jeb.074716](https://doi.org/10.1242%2Fjeb.074716). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0022-0949](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0022-0949). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [3515034](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3515034). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [23225872](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23225872).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Gatewood, Johanzynn (22 February 2017). ["Cat ownership not linked to mental health problems, study says"](https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/21/health/cat-ownership-mental-health-study/index.html). *CNN*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Solmi, F.; Hayes, J. F.; Lewis, G.; Kirkbride, J. B. (31 July 2017). ["Curiosity killed the cat: No evidence of an association between cat ownership and psychotic symptoms at ages 13 and 18 years in a UK general population cohort"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5939988). *Psychological Medicine*. **47** (9): 1659–1667. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S0033291717000125](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0033291717000125). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [5939988](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5939988). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [28222824](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28222824).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Moran, D.J.; Patterson, Jennifer L. (16 June 2011). ["When More Isn't Enough"](http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/when-more-isnt-enough/201106/animal-hoarding-is-there-such-thing-the-crazy-cat-lady). *Psychology Today*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Skloot, Rebecca (9 December 2007). ["'Cat Lady' Conundrum"](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/magazine/09_10_catcoat.html). *The New York Times*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170118000720/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/magazine/09_10_catcoat.html) from the original on 18 January 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Quinn, Sally; Solway, Diane (8 April 2009). ["Weditor's Blog: Sally Quinn on Life in Grey Gardens"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110606155829/http://www.wmagazine.com/w/blogs/editorsblog/2009/04/08/sally-quinn.html). *[W magazine](/source/W_magazine)*. Archived from [the original](http://www.wmagazine.com/w/blogs/editorsblog/2009/04/08/sally-quinn.html) on 6 June 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** [From the CBC archives: Winnipeg's cat lady Bertha Rand](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/from-the-cbc-archives-winnipeg-s-cat-lady-bertha-rand-1.3265086)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["The Queen of Queen Street"](http://www.signature-editions.com/index.php/books/single_title/the_queen_of_queen_street). *Signature Editions*. Retrieved 25 February 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Fox News (29 July 2021). [*JD Vance strikes nerve with media for latest stance on family*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gPGxB2FqEc). Retrieved 10 February 2026 – via YouTube.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** ["JD Vance slammed for 'childless cat ladies' comment"](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jd-vance-slammed-childless-cat-ladies-comment/story?id=112272258). *ABC News*. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** ["Taylor Swift endorses Harris in post signed 'Childless Cat Lady'"](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c89w4110n89o.amp). *BBC News*. 11 September 2024.

## External links

Media related to [Cat ladies](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Cat_ladies) at Wikimedia Commons

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cat lady](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_lady) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_lady?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.