As a guy...

Different rules for girls, though single and more than a handful of cats and people start whispering Crazy Cat Lady.

Most people I know would identify as dog people and the stats for Australian households with one but not the other are 2:1 in favour of dogs.

Disclaimer: I currently have two dogs, one cat

I rather like "crazy cat ladies". Obviously, I guess.

But why would women not like guys who like cats?

I have a theory. I like cats more than dogs because cats are independent and self-possessed. Whereas dogs are pack animals, seem to always be testing dominance order, and demand lots of maintenance.

So I can see how women who are looking for fathers would prefer dog people. Whereas women looking for friends would prefer cat people.

>So I can see how women who are looking for fathers would prefer dog people.

Unless you mean they have daddy issues and are looking for a partner that's just like their dad, no. In my experience of dating in a big city, every 30+ white American woman who has no kids, and doesn't even want kids, still goes on and on in her dating profile about how "obsessed" with dogs she is. These women only want men with dogs. It's not because they're looking for someone to be a father to her kids, it's just because that's the fad she's jumped on and decided to center her whole life around, and any man who isn't into that same fad isn't going to interest her.

It's just like women who are all into veganism, or social justice, or Trumpism, or some particular religon, or keto/paleo diets, or whatever. Americans these days all have to have some cause to rally around, and they don't want to date someone who isn't into that same cause, or can't be easily converted to adopt their cause.

Dogs make you go outside on a regular basis. So there’s that.

I think the link is between men owning cats, not women owning cats.

OK, but why would it be different for women?

No idea. Perhaps men are indifferent to the pets women have, while women do care?

As the initial poster was stating, men who have dogs seem to fare better at attracting women, while men who have cats seem to fare worse. There was nothing about women's success at attracting men, and the effect different animals have on it.

> As the initial poster was stating, men who have dogs seem to fare better at attracting women, while men who have cats seem to fare worse.

What's your evidence for that? There's nothing in the Independent article about it.

I'm not claiming any evidence, just restating what the earlier commentator had said.

Toxoplasmosis (which is due to a parasitic protozoan that is passed on by cats) effects men and women's personalities differently. It may be due to this effect that there would be a sociological difference.

Interesting. But that would require that women, collectively, be aware of the difference. And that seems unlikely.

If this is a thing, I guess that "likes Lassie" is as good an explanation as any.