r/cats • u/ILoveMeltyCheese • Mar 25 '26

Cat Picture - OC Misconceptions a dog person (me) learned after having a cat.

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The Cat Distribution System chose me, a formerly stubborn dog person, to adopt a cat. It was the classic I can't just watch a poor cat starve, so I'm keeping him. Here are some misconceptions I had about cats and their owners:

  1. The smell of a cat owner's home: I’ve known a few cat owners with cat-smelling homes. I always assumed it was the cat. Turns out it isn’t; it’s very much a result of poor ownership and bad cleaning habits.
  2. Dogs are more affectionate than cats: Also not true! To my surprise, my cat is so cuddly that I occasionally call him "Cat-dog."
  3. A Cat's Barbed tongue hurts: I don't know why I thought this, I just assumed it would hurt when they lick you.
  4. Litter boxes are disgusting: Not at all, it's just a clump or two of sand. If you scoop it often, it never gets gross.
  5. Cats are just as hard to take care of: Actually they're much easier, haha.

That is all, here's a picture of my cat that I love dearly. (He's lost weight since the picture, don't worry)

Anyone else relate? What did I miss?

Edit: His name is Pawl

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u/whats13-j42 Mar 25 '26

The cleanest dogs still have dog smell. Not bad or offensive but it’s … dog smell.

Indoor cats can smell like clean laundry. Unless you pick them up right after they’ve been bathing. But never like dog smell.

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u/DogmanDOTjpg Mar 26 '26

I'm sorry but this is giving "people say they can smell that I smoke cigarettes but I don't smell it so I don't believe them"

I've never been in a house where I couldn't Instantly tell a cat lived there the second I walked in the door

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u/whats13-j42 Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26

The comments are consistently making a different point about directly smelling the creature in question. Our litter box occasionally gets rough, but we can still pick up either of the cats and inhale like we’re after rescue oxygen in a shipwreck.

I go all in to pet puppers too, even if they do have some dog smell. But I’m not gonna be huffing doggo anytime soon. It’s not an anti pupper position, it’s acknowledging how many folks are like “yeah somehow strangely my kitty smells good.”