I've literally been on a date where I told a woman I was thinking of getting a cat and her exact response, in a public restaurant, was "that's gaaaaaay"; she was a data scientist.

No idea how cats ended up as a "feminine" signal. I've seen cats act as deadly hunters killing snakes, birds, rodents and fighting off animals significantly larger than themselves, standing their ground. If anything I'd thing that'd fit closer to the "traditional" masculine stereotypes. I don't own any pets now but had both cats and dogs growing up.