But seriously what is it with nerds and cats?

[Fabricated]

And the taking pictures of them?

Cats are fucking terrible pets IMO but I am not being snarky when I ask; what the fuck is it with nerds and cats?

My only idea is that it's because after they're trained to use a litter box they have a really low minimum threshold in terms of upkeep labor and that fits with the sperglord lifestyle of living like a human/slug hybrid.

[Furiously]

Yea what's with the love of bacon? It's like it's a delicious crispy meat.

[Fabricated]

Yea what's with the love of bacon? It's like it's a delicious crispy meat.

The bacon thing where people think jokes about how great bacon is are really funny is another ridiculous nerd/sperg thing that you should be deeply ashamed of if you unironically think it's good/funny.

I'm not kidding. Ditto with XKCD. I get douchechills at work seeing people post XKCD comics on their doors.

[Chimpy]

Have you finally cracked?

[Fabricated]

Have you finally cracked?

No, it's just that nerd culture is terrible.

[Merusk]

So who's hacked Fab's acct is the question.

[Strazos]

No, it's just that nerd culture is terrible.

Don't even get me started on this dubstep junk I've been hearing about recently, or how the trendy nerds feel the need to attach a quarter pound of metal to their faces.

Though, I don't even get worked up about the darn anime weeaboos anymore, whose lives seem to revolve around the new hotness crappy shonen is...and WoW.

 

[Fabricated]

Urgh, an example. Also note the classic webcomic artist trope of rendering your 3/10 SO in as flattering a way as possible. And this is about the most honest portrayal I've seen of one too.

[ghost]

I also hate cats. 

[ezrast]

And what's up with all these goddamn video games people keep playing? You just sit at a glowy skinner box and press buttons like a chimpanzee to satisfy your aaaaaugh I can't even do this.

So you don't like cats. Get over yourself?

[Hawkbit]

We have three cats and a dog.  If we do a long weekend vacation, it goes like this:

Cats:  Throw down extra food and a couple bowls of water.  Scoop litter right before we go.  Get home in three days, they're mildly interested that we're home.  

Dog:  Call kennel.  Kennel 1 full.  Kennel 2 full.  Kennel 3 has opening for Friday only.  Call vet, has opening for whole time but dog needs bordatella vaccine.  Get home in three days, pickup dog.  Dog is freaked because dogs are retarded and shits, vomits and sheds everywhere for a week.  Also, costs $250 at vet.  

I didn't want this dog, it was my wife's decision.  I have told her that I will never live with a dog again.  Period.  

My cats on the other hand are more friendly than the dog and have a whole array of different moods.  

Cats, man.  Cats.  

[Fabricated]

And what's up with all these goddamn video games people keep playing? You just sit at a glowy skinner box and press buttons like a chimpanzee to satisfy your aaaaaugh I can't even do this.

So you don't like cats. Get over yourself?

Actually I'm seriously asking what the nerd attraction to cats is and the taking pictures of them. The only people who take more photos of their pets are geriatrics.

[Hawkbit]

They have a whole website dedicated to cats where people put captions on the pictures.  You should Google it sometime. 

[Fabricated]

They have a whole website dedicated to cats where people put captions on the pictures.  You should Google it sometime.  

That was kinda the crux of me asking what the deal is with nerds and cats.

I'm not sure of a more succinct way of asking, "Why does a seemingly very large proportion of nerds own cats and dote on them like children and think that people care about the dozens of 'funny photos' they take of them?"

Again, I'm not joking. I just don't get it and wish to understand. The "minimum required care" thing explains why one would choose a cat over a dog, but at the least there is a portrayed obsession with cats in the 'nerd community' so to speak that I don't get.

[Chimpy]

I think you are reading more into it than is actually there.

[Muffled]

I think you are reading more into it than is actually there.

Some of that, but also: cats are the pet of choice for shut ins or generally introverted people.  They are not demanding in terms of needing to be outside, active, to have a lot of space or attention, but they do show significant affection and have more personality than rodents or lizards.  Dogs are more common pets among active people (no offense to the healthy-lifestyle internet denizen cat owners).  Beyond that, it's a meme at this point and self perpetuating.

[Merusk]

Dogs are also popular among needy extroverts who have to have everyone's attention.. while we're painting with barn brushes.

[Selby]

Again, I'm not joking. I just don't get it and wish to understand.

Anyone who doesn't think "ceiling cat is watching me masturbate" is funny has no sense of humor.

;-)

[Arrrgh]

We have three cats and a dog.  If we do a long weekend vacation, it goes like this:

Cats:  Throw down extra food and a couple bowls of water.  Scoop litter right before we go.  Get home in three days, they're mildly interested that we're home.  

Dog:  Call kennel.  Kennel 1 full.  Kennel 2 full.  Kennel 3 has opening for Friday only.  Call vet, has opening for whole time but dog needs bordatella vaccine.  Get home in three days, pickup dog.  Dog is freaked because dogs are retarded and shits, vomits and sheds everywhere for a week.  Also, costs $250 at vet.  

I didn't want this dog, it was my wife's decision.  I have told her that I will never live with a dog again.  Period.  

My cats on the other hand are more friendly than the dog and have a whole array of different moods.  

Cats, man.  Cats.  

Is not liking your wife's dog a sign of relationship doom or is that just me?

[Hawkbit]

Nah, we're fine.  Dog needs to go, though.

Part of the problem is that my daughter and I really aren't attached to the dog, but my wife is.  Unfortunately, my wife works a crap-ton of hours and is a pretty social person on top of it.  So inevitably, I'm the one who takes the dog to the vet, bathes it, feeds it, clips the nails...etc.  When my wife is home, it's not like she wants to first thing take the dog for a walk... she wants to sit down for a bit. 

It's fucking retarded.  She wants to have a dog without all the dumbshit upkeep of one.  We've done the whole "Get rid of the dog."  "Fine, but you find a home for her."  So that it's always going to be ME that got rid of her dog; I'll always be the asshole responsible. 

And... the dog is stuck in the middle.  It's shitty.  It's a perfect example of dumbfuck Americans not doing what is the right thing for them to do. 

[Prospero]

Just you. You can love your wife and disagree strongly with her taste in pets. I've been fighting off a dog in our house for 9 years now. Sadly my boys are getting old enough that soon they'll pile on and I will lose. I already made a bargain that I get a pot belly pig if they get a dog, so it's not all bad.

[Xuri]

Cats are low maintenance. Especially in the country-side where they can basically come and go as they please. To me, cats are... well... people who happen to live with you and tolerate your presence and for convenience's sake will let you feed them and pet them until they get bored, while dogs are high-maintenance pets; slaves to man, brainwashed to Always Do As Master Bids.

[Sky]

[Tebonas]

Cats are convenient pets that work on their own schedule. Dogs on the other hand need both time and emotional investment. Plus, they are pack animals while Nerds tend toward the loner side of the social spectrum. In my case, while there are dogs I really love and adore (luckily, my GFs dog is among them), personalitywise I am disgusted by their unquestioning obedience to a pack leader. Thats the antiauthoritarioan streak in me. Obedient people disgust me the same way.

[Ingmar]

IME the cat picture/video meme stuff is more popular in the People Like My Mom demographic than the Nerds I Know demographic.

I like cats and dogs both, is that allowed? 

[Mazakiel]

I like cats and dogs both, but got a cat in college because I was living in an apartment and a cat was the cheaper/low maintenance option. 

In theory at least. 

I have to laugh whenever I hear or read someone talk about an asshole cat that they barely have to look at.  My cat I've had for about 11 years now might as well be attached to me.  He's almost always either clamoring for attention in my lap or curled up on my feet.  In fact, he's snoring on my foot as I type this.  The few times he's not, he still stays in the same room as me.  If I leave a room while he's asleep, or leave the house, he'll start crying.  And he'll get loud, too, I've been able to hear him outside from 10-15 feet from the house.  The additional cats I've ended up with thanks to my girlfriend are almost just as bad.  If I want to not be around them for whatever reason, my only choice is to leave the house. 

While I still love dogs and would like to have one around again, I'd never get rid of the cats.  Mine at least are pretty awesome to be around. 

[K9]

Judging by the people who post on /r/aww, a large number of pet owners are demented.

That said, I did notice that a much higher proportion of people I played MMOs with would talk about their cats than any other pet, only a few seemed to own dogs. I'd say the convenience hypothesis is plausible.

[Jeff Kelly]

1. The people who post pictures of cats on the internets aren't predominantly belonging to the nerd demographic. I think that this is a misconception of you. It's more the mom-and-dad or typical bored thirtysomething office dweller that frequents those sites.

2. Why is it always black and white with you people? Cats or Dogs. With us or without us. I've owned cats, dogs, horses, cattle and several other kinds of pets and animals over the years. Everyone of them I've liked or loved in some way. Mindboggling I know but you can actually love more kinds of animal than just one. You should try it some time.

3. The cat hate right now is just typical hipster "I despise something that the majority likes, just because the majority likes it", anyway. Your "please try and make me care about something that I despise for no particular good reason" is just patronizing.

2. Why do you care. anyway? It's not like nerds on the internets are forcing you to go out and buy a cat.

You don't actually need to understand why people like the shit they do, just as they don't need to understand why you like the shit you do.

You could actually accept that there are people out there who do and like things you dislike, hate or even despise without being patronizing and demeaning to them, though.

If you actually want a real answer instead of just reinforcing your superiority over the cat-owning fraction of humanity then it has a lot to do with the general "personality" of different animals.

People like pets because they form an emotional connection to them and vice versa. Animals like dogs or horses for example are pack animals though, they need people that can assert dominance and signal that they are leader of the pack. Dogs are also a lot more in need of attention and care than cats. So if you are more of a loner and are already having difficulty with handling too much social interaction you probably lean more towards animals like cats who are generally more independent and need less attention or to put it better attention in smaller and shorter chunks.

Dogs are gerenerally more hyper, need more attention and are more submissive if you have asserted your dominace. They are similar to toddlers in that they are more emotionally and physically draining but when they like you they like you hard.

Horses are generally stubborn and can sense if you are confident or not and cows are - well cows.

There were times when dogs would have been to emotionally and physically draining for me and cats were easier to handle or live with because of their general independence. My cat would come to me for chunks of maybe ten to twenty minutes at a time but generally leave me alone. There ere times when a pet that 16 hours of the day doesn't really care if you are around or not seemd to be boring and dogs were more up my alley.

For me though it has never been about this or that. Even turtles can be great pets (if you can accept a commitment for 30 to 40 years that is).

TL;DR what you probably don't like about cats is exactly what is appealing to other personality types or to people that don't have enough time to care for a dog. Posting pictures of cats on the net however isn't nerd culture by a long shot.

[Jeff Kelly]

What you have to take into consideration is that we as a society are getting more and more isolated from each other. There have been a number of interesting studies lately that came to the conclusion that social circles (real ones not friends lists on facebook) are shrinking, that modern life tends to isolate people from others and that you probably have fewer social interactions with people face to face than you would have had thirty years ago.

For many people pets have become some sort of surrogates to fill the void left open by a dwindling number of friends and acquaintances. So they place more importance on their pets which can get a bit unhealthy. Also people seem to crave that short burst of joy that comes from looking at a really cute picture. This might seem a tad mad when watched frm the outside.

Dogs are less suited for the modern lifestyle that makes you and your SO work 60 hour weeks with long commutes. I would own a dog if I could take him to work. I won't however if I have to lock him into my small appartment for 16 hours a day, that would be cruel. If you'd own two cats however then this would be possible.

[Fabricated]

Dogs are also popular among needy extroverts who have to have everyone's attention.. while we're painting with barn brushes.

I can get that too. Outside of again, geriatrics the people I know who're obsessed with their cats refer to them like people instead of children. Whereas I've met people who treat their dogs like surrogate children; especially in childless marriages/relationships. I don't see that with cats a lot.

1. The people who post pictures of cats on the internets aren't predominantly belonging to the nerd demographic. I think that this is a misconception of you. It's more the mom-and-dad or typical bored thirtysomething office dweller that frequents those sites.

2. Why is it always black and white with you people? Cats or Dogs. With us or without us. I've owned cats, dogs, horses, cattle and several other kinds of pets and animals over the years. Everyone of them I've liked or loved in some way. Mindboggling I know but you can actually love more kinds of animal than just one. You should try it some time.

3. The cat hate right now is just typical hipster "I despise something that the majority likes, just because the majority likes it", anyway. Your "please try and make me care about something that I despise for no particular good reason" is just patronizing.

2. Why do you care. anyway? It's not like nerds on the internets are forcing you to go out and buy a cat.

You mad, bro?

But seriously it's not a "hating the trendy" thing, I don't mind being around cats but I hate them as pets stemming from when I was about 8 and our cat pissed in my fishtank and killed all of my fish. Also destroying a lot of furniture despite owning scratching posts.

I considered the "Cat owning nerd" thing kind of a stereotype until I got a job in IT and literally every single person in that extended circle of people I met minus maybe 2-3 people were "that guy". I just seriously didn't get it.

[tgr]

I can get that too. Outside of again, geriatrics the people I know who're obsessed with their cats refer to them like people instead of children. Whereas I've met people who treat their dogs like surrogate children; especially in childless marriages/relationships. I don't see that with cats a lot.

Mainly because cats aren't like children. They're independent, they mostly take care of themselves, they're highly affectionate some of the time (unless you're an asshole and mistreat them, in which case, kindly sail down the river twice, tia), they're not judgemental and they're cute and fluffy.

Compare them to dogs, where dogs aren't, they don't, they're overly affectionate (to the point of being fucking needy), they aren't, and this varies.

You mad, bro?

Rich, coming from someone starting this thread with that first post.

I considered the "Cat owning nerd" thing kind of a stereotype until I got a job in IT and literally every single person in that extended circle of people I met minus maybe 2-3 people were "that guy".

I don't see the problem.

Personally I like cats because they're needy when it comes to affection/cuddling, but they're not dog-needy, nor do they need so much care, and going away on a photography weekend doesn't need any special planning, I just leave them with extra water and food and a clean litterbox, and we're all happy. Companionship without all the hassle.

I just seriously didn't get it.

Just like I don't really get the reason for this thread even existing. Is this a troll thread?

[Merusk]

Just you. You can love your wife and disagree strongly with her taste in pets. I've been fighting off a dog in our house for 9 years now. Sadly my boys are getting old enough that soon they'll pile on and I will lose. I already made a bargain that I get a pot belly pig if they get a dog, so it's not all bad.

Had the same fight for just as long.  Still no dog.  It's not that I hate dogs, they're generally pretty fun.. when they're other peoples.   I hate the maintenance and property damage that goes hand-in-hand with owning them.  (The number of dog owners with chewed/ destroyed/ pissed-on things & massive rug stains > cat owners in my experience.)

I told the wife & children they could have one if they were the ones picking up the crap, playing with it and feeding it.  It helps that we watch my brother & mother's dogs from time to time, which reinforces just how much work it is to them.  I don't hear a peep about getting a dog for a month or so after we've had one of them for a week.

Have you finally cracked?

No, it's just that nerd culture is terrible.

Well, yes, by definition it's going to be if you enjoy popular things.  Nerds are on the outer fringes of society so their tastes & culture aren't going to be inline with the mainstream.  You're going to find it odd, quirky or just plain terrible if you're happy with more mainstream stuff.

[Jeff Kelly]

You mad, bro?

Nah, its just gotten very popular to hate cats nowadays and to be fair your FP kind of set the mood. And it's not just dislike it's serious disdain just like people were somehow forced too keep cats or look at cat pictures on the net.

I don't get that. Maybe because I'm a country guy and I've always been exposed to a lot of different kinds of animals and I like most of them. I'm not terribly fond of horses because they have character traits that are similar to those of cats, are too smart for their own good but weigh a couple of hundred pounds and are big. If you aren't a seriously in charge guy/gal they can be rather stubborn and try to dominate you. Which is not terribly good when you are sitting on top of them.

but seriously it's not a "hating the trendy" thing, I don't mind being around cats but I hate them as pets stemming from when I was about 8 and our cat pissed in my fishtank and killed all of my fish. Also destroying a lot of furniture despite owning scratching posts.

I'm terribly sorry about your fish.

Cats do that when they are seriously pissed off (sorry pun is not intended) about something. Maybe they were ignored or mistreated or left alone for too long. A dog pisses and craps if he's overexcited or nervous, a cat does it to spite you and it does it so that you notice it.

It's most of the time a very big "Fuck you". The scratching of furniture stops as soon as you get the right scratching post. I usually have more problems with property damage from dogs not cats but YMMV.

I considered the "Cat owning nerd" thing kind of a stereotype until I got a job in IT and literally every single person in that extended circle of people I met minus maybe 2-3 people were "that guy". I just seriously didn't get it.

A cat has an aura of independence. You cannot bribe cats, they either like you or they don't. Dogs are more like toddlers they need a lot of attention which for people that are not used to them might come across as needy. Loner types are attracted to loner types of animal. A cat also has a lot more personality than a turtle or a hamster.

At the time when I was feeling rather disconnected from society and had kind of a loner streak I felt more "connected" to cats than dogs. Dogs were too much stress and required too much attention that I simply wasn't psychologically capable of at the time while cats feel like you are living with them while not having to take care of them the whole time. I mean you don't even have to walk them. They even require affection in chunks that you can handle when just dealing with society is stressful. They are around you for maybe 30 minutes and then they leave you alone and want to be left alone.

Right now I'd rather own a dog if I had the time to care for one.

Also a choice of "what kind of pet can I actually keep when I'm single and work for 70 hours a week"

[DraconianOne]

Mmmmm..... bacon flavoured cats. 

I once found my cat eating bacon in the kitchen which surprised me because I hadn't cooked any. Then I overheard my neighbour screaming at her kid about a) eating the bacon before it was ready b) taking it off the hot grill pan and c) lying about not doing it.

Really wish I'd got a picture of my cat looking smug. With its bacon.

[Jeff Kelly]

I once chased my cat through our whole house after she had stolen a rather large steak from the kitchen counter, so large in fact that she had to run in a funny way with the paws wide and the head held high to not trip on the piece of meat she had in her mouth. The steak was nearly larger then the whole (rather tiny) cat.

The look of accomplishment she shot me because she had caught that was very very funny.

Both dogs and cats have that fake look of innocence down pat though, that "I didn't do nothing" look that always cracks me up.