Western Pennsylvania cat moms reject ‘cat lady’ stereotypes

By JOYCE HANZ
TribLive

“Cat lady.”

It’s a two-word pop-culture stereotype that often conjures negative images and opinions of cats and owners.

There’s even a National Cat Lady Day — April 19 — celebrating and honoring the “special bond between cats and their human companions” amid stereotypes that are often negative to cat ladies.

But is the label fair to modern- day women who choose to own six or more cats and responsibly care for them?

Times have changed and the cat lady status has been embraced by many cat moms, including perhaps the most globally famous cat lady — Taylor Swift. In a 2024 Instagram post endorsing presidential candidate Kamala Harris, she signed herself “Childless Cat Lady” (a reference to a J.D. Vance comment that surfaced during the campaign).

There’s even a public Facebook group for cat ladies, dubbed Cat moms & Cat ladies, with more than 35,000 members.

Bought a house for the cats

Alicia Cabrera of Plum has seven cats, all rescues from the Pittsburgh area. After renting for years, she recently bought a two-story house to make room for her feline crew.

“This is our starter home. We will eventually get an even bigger house,” Cabrera said while showing Trib-Live around the neat-as-apin property that includes a tricked-out outdoor “catio” in the backyard.

Cabrera and her husband, Ryan, share their home with Apollo, Prudence, Atlas, Artemis, Graham, Chicory and Poe, a one-eyed tuxedo cat.

“I’m a firm believer in getting animals in pairs. Cats have their own unique personalities and they are a special family member to embrace. They teach patience, boundaries and love,” Cabrera said. “The biggest thing with owning cats is taking the time to learn their own personalities and cater to each cat.”

All of the Cabrera cats live under one roof and enjoy a cushy lifestyle.

She said public reaction to her cat lady status runs the gamut and can sometimes lean negative.

“Most people are shocked because the first thing that comes to their mind, and some people may assume, is that the house is a pigsty, or that it’s really expensive, but that’s not the case,” said Cabrera, who works from home and can clean out litter boxes several times daily.

There are air purifiers to keep the home odor-free and auto cat feeders to make care more efficient.

Add in lots of cat toys, outdoor window bird feeders mounted for bird viewing and several custom indoor cat tree towers, and the Cabrera home is one cool cat pad.

The Cabreras have no children but said they’re planning for a family in the future.

“I keep saying I want kids, but we keep getting more cats,” Cabrera said.

Rejecting cat lady labels in Cabot

Brittany Bastin of Cabot isn’t buying the cat lady myth.

“I was crazy before the cats,” she joked.

Bastin lives with seven cats and a gaggle of other animals, including 11 ducks and 32 chickens, on her one-acre property.

“The myth that homes with multiple cats stink is false. Your home doesn’t stink if you properly care for your pets and their needs,” Bastin said.

Bastin loves helping animals and said it’s rewarding to give her cats a wonderful life.

“They provide comfort, love and loads of entertainment,” Bastin said. “And an empty bank account.”

One of Bastin’s cats required surgery that totaled more than $30,000.

Cabrera added that she spends about $800 monthly for premium cat food, litter and other cat-related items.

Bastin noted it’s money well spent.

“It’s well worth it to know that you’ve helped an animal that isn’t able to help themselves,” Bastin said.

Veterinarian Dr. Nicole Milligan owns and operates Sarver Animal Hospital in Buffalo Township. She said her office sees many clients that have more than six cats.

“The size of the home is important because a larger house could hold more cats and provide room for adequate resource stations for food, water, play and litter boxes,” she said.

Milligan said there’s no magic number out there. In her professional experience, she sees cat owners who are very invested in their pets.

“Most of these owners are very dedicated to their cat’s care,” Milligan said. “There definitely can be too many cats in a household; however, it’s not really possible to give a solid number that we would consider too many.”

Milligan noted several factors contribute to whether or not there are too many felines in a home.

Finances are at the top of the list.

“An important factor is if the owner has the financial ability to adequately care for all of the cats,” Milligan said. “We do sometimes see situations where an owner ends up with more cats than they can afford to feed and get medical care.”

Other factors to consider involve time and attention given to the animals, the size of the home and having the correct litter box/cat ratio.

“We typically recommend cat owners have one litter box per cat and an extra box at the minimum, and multiple areas for them to eat and rest because sometimes cats can have conflict over these areas,” Milligan said.

Lovin’ cat lady life

Jaden Luhovey has 15 indoor cats in her Greensburg home that she shares with her fiancé and two dogs.

Like Bastin, Luhovey has paid steep vet bills.

Luhovey’s 8-year-old cat Oliver was diagnosed with nasal lymphoma and underwent a six-month chemotherapy treatment program and is now in remission.

Oliver’s total medical bills reached almost $20,000.

Luhovey spends about $800 per month for cat food, treats and toys, including litter to keep the 20 litter boxes (18 in the basement and two in the laundry room) well supplied.

Luhovey said social media reaction from some strangers when they read she has 15 cats can be rude and judgmental.

“I think it’s funny when people assume things without really knowing. We have a beautiful three-story house and my cats are a part of my decor,” Luhovey said. “I keep a beautiful home.”

The Luhovey cats are kept inside but have free rein throughout.

“I will never let them outside to go and get hit by a car or killed,” Luhovey said. “I’m very over-the-top with my babies and they are very spoiled. They mean so much to me. They’ve gotten me through the best and worst parts of my life. My dogs are like my kids and my cats are like my companions. The cats listen to my day and support me and for the most part, they take care of themselves.”

Bedtime can get chaotic for Luhovey because she apparently is a cat magnet.

“Once I get in bed, the cats lie all over me. I had eight cats when my fiancé met me. Those are my babies and I say, ‘It’s their world and we’re just in it,’ ” said Luhovey, who is employed as a corporate retail district manager.

Jaden and her fiancé have reached a compromise, capping their cat limit at 15.

“I take great care of them and if everyone just opened their home to just one more, you can make a difference,” Luhovey said. “If I can do it, anyone can. I’m a high performer at work and have a great life. You don’t have to be a weirdo to have a lot of pets.”

Nine is fine

Sharon Long of Gilpin has nine cats and was a cat girl growing up on a farm in rural Armstrong County.

“I never really thought about not having multiple cats because I grew up on a farm and we always had cats,” Long said.

Long’s nine cats are Oreo, Felix, Oscar, Frankie, Misty, Trixie, Lucy, Daisy and the newest addition, Zoey.

For Long, the stereotype of cat ladies being crazy and reclusive isn’t a fair label.

“The stereotype of cat ladies is that we’re anti-social and I hear that sometimes. The impression (of cat ladies) is that my house is dirty or they envision a hoarder situation and that’s just not the case. Guests visiting my home remark they can’t tell that I have as many cats as I have. They’re surprised,” Long said.

The Long family keeps an uber-clean home with chores that include twice-daily cleaning of eight litter boxes.

Automatic water fountains provide fresh drinking water. Long’s felines are fed twice daily.

Long said coming home to happy, healthy cats is a stress buster.

“No matter how bad my day is, when I come home to my cats, it just improves my overall mood. Our one cat, Lucy, the heaviest one, always lies on her back with her belly exposed; they don’t have stress, except when the food bowl is empty — that’s their stress,” Long said.

For Long, the recent death of her beloved 17-year-old cat Allie is still painful.

That’s the most difficult part, she said.

“My husband got Allie for me as a gift. Her death was unexpected and devastating,” Long said. “The stigma of a cat lady being a bad thing needs to stop because we’re not crazy. We just have a lot of love to give.”

In seven heaven

Heather Langford of Apollo has seven cats and more than 300 cat-themed figurines in her home.

Langford works as a parttime cashier, is single and once dated a man who was allergic to cats.

It lasted just one date. “These are my kids,” Langford said. “Cats are my independent companions/roommates.”

Langford never expected to have seven felines.

Portraits of her cats adorn the walls of her spacious home along a quiet street near Downtown Apollo.

“I think my cats think I’m their mom. The best part of all of it is the cuddles,” Langford said. “That sounds cheesy, but it’s true. They have little shifts; one will visit and then another.”

Cat figurines of all shapes and sizes are displayed in cabinets and on furniture, many gifts from friends who know how much of a cat lady Langford is.

Langford usually has about five cats sleep on her bed nightly.

“I get mixed reactions. A lot of women like it. A lot of guys are kind of weirded out by it,” Langford said.

Five indoor cat trees are located throughout the home. Langford said sometimes being a cat lady is a stigma.

But she doesn’t seem to care.

“Once someone I was thinking about dating did block me when he found out about my cats. Some people are weird about cats, but I don’t want to hang out with that kind of people anyway.”

She even sports two cat tattoos, one of them honoring her soul cat Nicholas, who recently died.

The biggest challenge of being a cat lady is cost — more than $300 monthly.

Her family is happy with her furry friends.

“We’re all cat people,” Langford said. “And I want to remind everyone to please spay and neuter your cats. It’s kitten season and everyone is overwhelmed.”