Why are cats considered feminine and dogs considered masculine?

I think it’s that the common traits overlap somewhat:

In the context/understanding that everyone (male or female, human or animal) has both masculine and feminine aspects.

Cats tend to be more sensitive, dignified, cautious, concerned with cleanliness, elegant, quiet. hinting, teasing, and perhaps some other things that are also what people tend to think of as feminine.

Dogs tend to be more direct, messy, loud, aggressive, and perhaps some other things that are also what people tend to think of as masculine.

Because dogs shit everywhere, lick their own balls, while cats clean themselves regularly and clean up after themselves.

Surely people would think that a Poodle is masculine, or perhaps a tiny Papillon or Shih-tzu is masculine. Really? Then how about rabbit, hamster, etc? Oh I guess they’re more LGBT lol. Seriously, these are all subjective and personal preference.

The people in your description are ignorant people that were raised in an environment that keep gender roles and worship double standard.

LOL. They are? That’s all in your head. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

I think that’s a fairly accurate generalization. However, we all know that generalizations are inaccurate upon close examination, so both @Zaku and @Unofficial_Member are correct. It’s interesting that in French, both are masculine gender nouns.

@Hawaii_Jake
French has 2 separate words for male and female cats, chat and chatte.

Cats have dexterity, wisdom, and charisma while dogs have strength , constitution ,and intelligence. The difference between angels and demons. feminine and masculine

Loli wants to eat le chat et la chatte.

I really don’t think that they are. Do you have any evidence for your contention?

Be cautious about using the word “chatte.” It can refer to female private parts, much the same way as a common English word for cat.

I think you might perceive them that way because we grow up with the cute girl cat trying to get away from Pepé Le Pew and sayings like “dogs are a man’s best friend.” Plus, cats tend to be quieter, and they are small relative to a lot of dogs, even though I realize there are plenty of small dogs. Dogs often look more muscular too. Depends on the dog of course. Also, cats have smaller noses and flatter faces than a lot of dogs. I think that is associated with femininity.

@marinelife
Der Hund, die Katze.

@AloraCrimson I did not know they were.

Because cats are pussies ;)

I don’t know. To me, a cat’s tendency to be stubborn, lazy, and go where the food is seems plenty masculine to me :)

Dogs can be trained.

@Unofficial_Member

Excuse me sweet darling, I am not ignorant nor are the people I’ve spoken to. I live, work, and am from Los Angeles. We have a huge LGBT community here. Do not call me ignorant.

As I stated, this was just a fun question to ask.

Fluther is a place to ask questions. I’m not going to apologize for asking a question.

You need to get a grip on yourself. Not everyone thinks the way you do, just as not everyone thinks the way I do. Now kindly take your ignorance somewhere else ;)

I Googled the question – and lo and behold – there are MANY others who have wondered this as well.

https://www.google.com/search?q=why+are+cats+feminine+and+dogs+are+masculine&oq=why+are+cats+feminine+and+dogs+are+masculine&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60.15415j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

@ragingloli

Hahaha…. Amazing answer XD That makes sense lol

@rojo

lol….

:D

@Zaku

Awesome answer. True, thank you!

@RedDeerGuy1

:)

@DominicY I agree with that.

I always thought I made that distinction because my family always owned male dogs and female cats. It was just a habit.

There are a lot of connection to cats and women, as well as dogs and men. You ain’t wrong, OP.

My guess is that, like @Zaku said, cats are perceived as elegant, quiet, and clean (and territorial, which is quite similar to being…..catty. Just like women) while dogs are much louder, agressive, and social, which is more stereotypical of men. Not that women ain’t social, but they were usually stuck in the house, while men spent much time everywhere else.

Also, cats usually live around the household, where women (stereotypically) are. Dogs are used for hunting, a male activity. If they’re at home, they are guarding the house. Guardians, in our societies, are men.

Also#2, cat is a name for a species and a female member of it. Dog is name for the species and a male member of it. Male cats and female dogs have specific names. This happens in other languages too.

Also#3, cats were usually connected to witchcraft, which is almost exclusively connected with women.

Also#4, cats, like @YARNLADY mentioned, are largely female. Male cats are less common. Dogs are largely male, and female dogs are less common.

Just some thoughts.

@Sneki2

THANK YOU

I just asked my daughter this question. She said it’s hard for her to imagine a French poodle in a full French cut with all those pompoms as anything other than female.