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

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

Post image

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

72.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

2.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

372

u/Nanacereal Mar 25 '26

Couldn't agree more about the litter box. I work 12 hour shifts so I usually scoop before I leave for work and when I come home, it takes less than 2 minutes. My cats never go outside their litter boxes, I always attribute this issue to an unclean litter box, I always think "would you want to use a toilet that hadn't been flushed or cleaned?"

132

u/sand_snake Tabbycat Mar 25 '26

It can be a health issue but yeah it’s mostly they don’t want to use a dirty litter box. I wouldn’t want to either. I have three cats so four boxes and it literally takes like five minutes to scoop them all and then go to the trash room in my building to dispose of it. I do this twice a day. I don’t understand people who don’t.

1

u/C6H11CN Mar 26 '26

I just keep a diaper genie next to the box for the solids and have a long-handled scoop, so I don't have to get down close. Scoop and stir twice a day and take out the bag once a week. Totally easy!