User post: Why Is Your Cat in Your Dating Profile Picture?

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  Posted by urassismine2 Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:20pm PDT

  I vehemently disagree with your ideal of hiding the pet from prospective suitors! If you've got a cat and I'm not into pets, the deception being perpetrated by not letting me know before hand, is the deal breaker. A woman hiding the truth of a pet is a deep character flaw, and hiding the realities of one's specific situation, especially when it comes to the responsibility of a dependent, is crucial to the manifestation of a viable encounter with a new prospective contact. Some guys just don't want to be around a woman who has got that pet mentality. It is about a man's or a woman's personal choice to choose who he or she feels is within his or her prospective dating preference, as well. Dealing with a pet lover is different in many other ways than a non-pet owner, and yet, it is so subjective a choice within that grouping, for both men and women to make. The observation here should be about not exploiting a potential someone with a lack of information, that you know is going to be a distraction on some level for a non- pet person. Non-pet owners have a totally different outlook on the perspective entertwinment between two people, because of the additional observance of a pet. That pet matters, and the consideration needed for that pet may not be what someone may really want to endeavor. That pet is a family member to a pet owner.That is what changes the dynamic. I posted a query on my blog about this very subject, and I recieved approximately 78 responses of varying interests in relationship to the choices between "who stays and who goes". The result was overwhelmingly that the man had to go! The dog stayed. The cat stayed. The man had to go. The introduction of a man, into the relationship of a woman and her pet was overwhelmingly pro-pet. Based on this simple random survey of explaination, women, if given the choice are not willing to compromise thier pet, for the sake of her relationship. This puts the importance of her human relationship with "any" man in possible jeopardy of succeeding beyond certain points in the relationship, that would otherwise be considered more to the norm of non-pet relationships.Thank you.

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  Posted by None Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:13pm PDT

  Um I disagree, be yourself!

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  Posted by TimK Mon Mar 16, 2009 3:39pm PDT

  I 100% agree with this! When I'm looking at single girls to see if they are worth emailing, the last thing I want to see is pictures of their cat, puppy, nephew, or anyone guy next to her in a close embrace. Its great that you love spending time with your family or are really excited you just got a cute pet, but the bottom line is that I'm looking at you and could care less. This post is spot on with attention being taken away from the opposite sex too. Suppose things go fantastic and eventually get serious, guess who is going to end up filling the food dish and cleaning the litter box or the backyard. If you can't find more than one decent picture of just yourself, just leave it at that!

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  Posted by Freddy (obviously) Mon Mar 16, 2009 4:26pm PDT

  i'm going to side with those who disagree, and this is why: a while ago i was on a dating site, and i met this girl... she said she was nuts about her dogs on her profile, and i'm pretty pet friendly, so i thought that was cool. unfortunately i didn't mention my cats until later on. she just hated cats. when i told her about them she was furious that i have two purebred cats that are not fixed. well of course they aren't fixed, where do you think purebred kittens come from anyway? she became convinced that i was basically the devil (for not getting my cats fixed and for owning a specific breed animal) and just a terrible pet owner and all around person. i had to block her because she wouldn't leave me alone.

  i'm not a crazy cat person, i don't like...dress them up and feed them fancy feast. they're just ordinary cats like people have ordinary dogs. but maybe i should have mentioned them earlier because they are part of my life. if a girl has a pet, it seems reasonable you should want to know about it - that's not a reason to be all obsessive and post 30 pictures of your puppy, but it is an important detail.

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  Posted by Phoenix Tue Mar 17, 2009 6:25am PDT

  I can't agree with this post. You may be "scaring off" the few people who think having a pet means no time for them, but you'll be attracting a much larger demographic of people who like pets, and also appreciate people being themselves in their photographs. Sorry.

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  Posted by Furbrats Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:14am PDT

  I too am siding with the dissenters. People are allergic to animals. The last thing you want on a first date is to show up with the unavoidable pet hair and start a sneezing session. People allow different degrees of access in the house. For instance are the pets allowed on the bed? This could create some difficult situations. It's better to just get it all out there. "I own pets, will usually means I'll be covered in pet hair in varying amounts, pet hair will be all over my house as will muddy footprints when it rains. My furniture is covered with washable covers because they're allowed up there and they're allowed on my bed, which means they may watch while we have sex. If all this is acceptable to you send me an email." Wouldn't that be a whole heck of a lot easier than hiding them??

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  Posted by tina Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:32am PDT

  I wouldn't necessarily have a pet in the photo, but you should mention it in your profile somewhere. "I love pets! I have two wonderful dogs..." something along those lines. 1. It opens up the door for conversation, like why you have the pet you have, and if they are pet ppl it can lead to happy sharing of memories. Great! Your profile picture should just be you, you and your dog, or you and your nephew are not looking for a date YOU are. Always be up front, definitely don't hide the fact you have pets or enjoy going to the nursing home several times a week. The ppl you want to date, will admire what you like to spend you time doing. The ones that think "Ughh pets..." or "I hate visiting families.." well, they aren't the ppl you want to date anyways.

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  Posted by ladybella04 Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:48am PDT

  I really disagree on this one. I think it just depends on whether the overall profile is pathetic or not. Like, if it's just a photo of you and grandpa and the cat and no friends, then yeah, it's gonna look a little sad. But if the photos of great aunt Ethel or Whiskers the cat enhance an already nice profile, it's a bonus and not a detraction. It says, yes I have friends, but I also care for my nana and my adorable puppy. Sweet!

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  Posted by sugarapplesweet Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:59am PDT

  I'm one of those guilty people that usually has her dad in the picture with her, but if you're going to be dating me, you'd better know that he's going to be involved somehow. I'm not saying I drag him along on dates or anything. What I AM saying is that you're going to be spending a lot of time talking with him and me about everything from politics to the paranormal.

  Bottom line: I've known him for nineteen years, and I've only just met you about three months ago.

  If first impressions are so effective, then it's probably best for a person just to put it all out there, especially considering most people on online dating sites are looking at appearances. It also lets someone know that I'm not going to be interesting in just a one-night stand or a 'friends with benefits' situation.

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  Posted by blueyedmolly02 Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:59am PDT

  I absolutely disagree with this post. The whole point of posting a profile is to let others know exactly where it is you are coming from. Why would I eliminate the fact that I love animals,my family,or old people for that matter and waste my time sorting through a bunch of e-mails that I can't be sure if they're being honest because of course I would know that I wasn't being honest. I am a firm believer in something my mom told me a long time ago...Always be yourself and be honest. You can't go wrong this way. Life is too short to waste time on such trivial matters. Hey everyone I have three beautiful cats,I love my family and stand by them, and yes I enjoy spending time with the elderly!! Need to know any more?!! Remember ladies Always be yourself and Always be honest. You can't go wrong!!

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