The Pacific Northwest is the ‘cat dad’ capital of the U.S.

Everyone understands that puppies are “man’s finest good friend.” And cats? We tend to associate them far more with gals. To me, this appears to be like a silly difference — but then, I live in the Pacific Northwest, and in our corner of the place, guys enjoy cats.

That’s not just my belief. Information backs me up.

According to marketplace-exploration huge Nielsen, amongst the 25 major metro parts in the U.S., Seattle and Portland have the best percentages of one adult males who have a cat — let’s simply call them “cat dads,” the male equivalent of the much more well-known “cat lady” trope.

In the Seattle metro region, there are approximately 725,000 unmarried adult men. About 170,000 of them — near to 24{530e870c018efe4faeaf1650f5521f73bbd950ecc9f753be09e2bfdaa8245e82} — have at minimum one cat. Among massive metro spots, that ranks Seattle 2nd powering Portland, which is the obvious chief for cat dads: Remarkably, 31{530e870c018efe4faeaf1650f5521f73bbd950ecc9f753be09e2bfdaa8245e82} of single males in the Rose Town have at least one particular cat.

Riverside, California, is the 3rd-area metro spot, with approximately 22{530e870c018efe4faeaf1650f5521f73bbd950ecc9f753be09e2bfdaa8245e82} of solitary adult males remaining cat dads.

Miami is at the other close of the spectrum, with a cat possession amount of just 11{530e870c018efe4faeaf1650f5521f73bbd950ecc9f753be09e2bfdaa8245e82} amid single guys. In Washington, D.C., and Boston, cat dads are also reasonably scarce, at 13{530e870c018efe4faeaf1650f5521f73bbd950ecc9f753be09e2bfdaa8245e82} and 14{530e870c018efe4faeaf1650f5521f73bbd950ecc9f753be09e2bfdaa8245e82}, respectively.

Nielsen surveyed extra than 390,000 grownups nationally, which includes approximately 6,300 in our metro spot, from June 2020 to Oct 2022. The Seattle metro includes King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

Geoff Brown is among the Seattle’s lots of cat dads and said he wasn’t amazed to discover that guys are more probably to have a cat in this component of the place.

“I believe it can make feeling because it’s a additional progressive portion of the place,” said Brown, a supervisor at Seattle General public Utilities’ engineering documents vault. “I believe there’s much more independence to not be ‘toxically masculine’ in this part of the state. So that notion of cats as a feminine matter is simpler to shake.”

Brown has a Ragdoll cat named Ellsworth that he adopted as a kitten four years back. Ellsworth is his 2nd cat. His initially was yet another Ragdoll that he rescued with his ex-spouse. That cat died four several years ago, and about four months later on, Brown took house Ellsworth.

“I skipped acquiring a cat in my existence, having a buddy,” he reported.

When it may perhaps be viewed as less manly for a male to have a cat in some other areas, Brown does not believe it’s been an situation for him when it arrives to courting in Seattle. “The women of all ages I’ve dated have been into my cat — I mean, he’s more handsome than me,” he mentioned, laughing.

Here’s another locating in the Nielsen details that solidifies the Pacific Northwest’s position as the nation’s cat-father cash: Seattle and Portland are the only two significant metro spots where by one adult males are about as probably to have a cat as a pet dog.

No surprise, but in most of the country, single fellas clearly favor pet dogs around cats. Nielsen’s details exhibits about 26{530e870c018efe4faeaf1650f5521f73bbd950ecc9f753be09e2bfdaa8245e82} of solitary gentlemen in the 25 most significant metros are pet entrepreneurs, 9 share factors greater than the quantity for cats.

But that major hole involving cat and pet dog ownership basically doesn’t exist listed here. Portland, in simple fact, is the 1 substantial metro where single adult males are (a bit) far more very likely to have a cat than a puppy — just about 30{530e870c018efe4faeaf1650f5521f73bbd950ecc9f753be09e2bfdaa8245e82} have a canine, a bit decreased than the 31{530e870c018efe4faeaf1650f5521f73bbd950ecc9f753be09e2bfdaa8245e82} who have a cat.

In Seattle, it is essentially a draw among cats and canine, both of those with an ownership level of around 24{530e870c018efe4faeaf1650f5521f73bbd950ecc9f753be09e2bfdaa8245e82} between single guys. There are about 176,000 Seattle-space one gentlemen with a pet dog, hardly edging out the 170,000 who have a cat.

Minneapolis gets the bronze medal, with one gentlemen favoring pet dogs by a tiny 4 share-place margin above cats.

In some huge metros, the gap in between puppy and cat possession is massive. The metro region that skews most greatly towards canines is Orlando, Florida, where by single guys favor canine above cats by a whopping 21 share points. The gulf is virtually as massive in the Charlotte, North Carolina, and Riverside, California, metro parts, in which there are gaps of 19 proportion details.

Aaron Jobe is a different Seattle cat father who was not surprised to master that one gentlemen with feline pals are a lot more common in this spot than the relaxation of the place.

“Just recognizing my friend group — a great deal of the fellas have cats,” he claimed.

Jobe, a logistics engineer at Expeditors, a Seattle-dependent freight-forwarding firm, adopted his cat, Bruce, from the Seattle Humane Society in 2020 at the top of the pandemic.

“I was lonely and by myself in my apartment all the time,” he claimed. Since of COVID-period limits, Jobe couldn’t even meet up with Bruce in particular person ahead of adopting him. Fortunately, Bruce turned out to be an affectionate cat who loves men and women.

Like Brown, Jobe thinks the substantial percentage of cat dads in the Pacific Northwest could be similar to a neighborhood culture that destinations significantly less emphasis on masculine stereotypes.

“It may partly be our greater LGBT population … My group of gay mates are the ones who have cats,” Jobe mentioned.

Jobe thinks the fact that cats are a lot more self-reliant than pet dogs is a major factor in Seattle, with its high percentage of people who live on your own.

“I have an automated foodstuff feeder and water bowl — I really do not have to fret about him constantly,” he mentioned. “I’ve viewed my close friends get canines and it takes above their lives.”

And even though this is not distinct to gender, both Brown and Jobe also mentioned the weather as a probable variable in the enchantment of cats in this region.

“It’s pleasant to snuggle up with a cat in the damp time,” Brown explained. “A ton of people hike in this article, and confident, it would be interesting to have a doggy to go on hikes. But I’m inside a whole lot additional than outside.”

Or as Jobe set it: “Who actually wants to wander a puppy in the rain every working day?”