My Pet World: Debunking tired stereotypes about cats

Cats have an image problem.

"They've gotten a bad rap with so many stereotypes which simply aren't true," says Julie White, PetSmart director of Grants, Programs and Field Initiatives.

Here's a big part of the problem: Cats are more often relinquished to shelters than dogs, and less often adopted, which adds up to more cats being euthanized compared to dogs. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), about 649,000 animals who enter shelters annually as strays are returned to their owners. Of those, 542,000 are dogs and only 100,000 are cats.

Could it be that cats actually have less value than dogs? According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), cats are actually more popular than dogs. There are about 74 million pet cats in the U.S, but only about 70 million dogs.

Despite this, cats are taken to a veterinarian far less often than dogs for routine care, according to the AVMA. And, overall, pet owners aren't as willing to spend us much money on cat health care as dog health care.

"And at least a part of that has to do with those stereotypes people have about cats, which we plan to debunk," White says.

To celebrate the ASPCA's Adopt a Shelter Cat Month (and American Humane Association's Adopt A Cat Month), PetSmart Charities is asking folks to take selfies with their cats, then upload the images to http://www.petsmartcharities.org/campaigns/meow-out-yourself. You can also post pix on Instragram and/or Twitter, using the hashtag MeowOUT.

"We want to show in pictures the variety of cats and cat owners," says White. "This isn't just about little old cat ladies; it's fashion designers, truck drivers, young single people. Everyone has cats."

Actress Mayim Bialik, a cat parent, pet adoption advocate and star of "The Big Bang Theory" on CBS, will help judge the cat selfie photo contest. The lucky five winners and their cats will be featured in PetSmart Charities promotional materials. The contest runs through July 3, with winners announced August 3.

So what issues do people have with cats? Earlier this year, PetSmart conducted a nationwide survey of just over 1,000 participants to better understand just how people feel about cats and their owners. Respondents cited friends and family who own cats as their most common sources of information about cats (74 percent).

Another growing source of information is the media The reality is that Garfield's day has passed; today's celebrity cats are Internet stars. More than a third of survey respondents said they also get some information about cats from Internet videos or social media. More than half of cat owners polled said they talk about their cat(s) or share cat videos.

While cat owners, in particular, noted that cats are "intelligent," "loving," "cuddly" and "attractive," many survey respondents were quick to describe cats as "moody," "stubborn," "aloof" and "grouchy." No surprise, the survey showed that negative stereotypes also affect perceptions of cat owners and cat lovers. Most pervasive is the "cat lady." Nearly half (49 percent) of survey participants still buy into the idea that most cat lovers are female, often spinsters, and their homes are crawling with felines.

Clearly, that's untrue. According to the AVMA, most cats live with families (not single, elderly ladies) and while there are, on average, more cats than dogs per home, that average number is 2.1 cats per home, compared to 1.6 dogs. In truth, among bird owners, there are more birds per home, with a 2.3 average.

Things are looking up, as 61 percent of those surveyed indicate stereotypes about cat owners are not valid. In fact, at least among survey respondents, the majority (78 percent) would like to have a cat as a pet.

So, why aren't more cats adopted?

"We're working on that, but by showing that stereotypes aren't true; it's a good start," White says.

If you have at least one cat, demonstrate your cat pride with a selfie. When all is said and done, the best PR campaign for cats may be carried out by cats themselves, whether they're Internet celebrities or you own 4-legged pals.

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