A self-proclaimed “dog person” finally got their first cat, and is sharing all the misconceptions they previously believed about felines.
Reddit user u/ILoveMeltyCheese explained in a viral post to r/cats on March 26 that they had always only had dogs, but when the “Cat Distribution System” chose them, they became a first-time cat owner to the adorably-named Pawl.
The cat distribution system is the term used for when a person finds a lost or stray cat or kitten, or the cat finds them. The internet is full of stories of people finding kittens on roads, in bushes or under cars, or a stray cat simply showing up to a person’s home and deciding to live there.
Speaking to Newsweek, they revealed they “found him outside of a park, on a sidewalk. The back side of his fur was sparse from over-licking due to bug bites, and he was as scrawny as ever. We pulled over, gave him some leftovers, and took him to the vet.
“After a check-up and meds I took him home. He had no chip and no one to claim him in our small town. After mulling it over for a while, I decided to adopt him,” they said.
In the post, they wrote that it was a case of “I can’t just watch a poor cat starve, so I’m keeping him.”
And, describing themselves as a “formerly stubborn dog person,” they admitted to previously having “misconceptions” about “cats and their owners.”
Along with a photo of their new pet, a healthy, chunky black-and-white cat, they said they had previously known people with cats to have “cat-smelling homes,” and “always assumed it was the cat” that caused the smell. “Turns out it isn’t,” they wrote. “It’s very much a result of poor ownership and bad cleaning habits.”
They had also believed that “dogs are more affectionate than cats,” which they now think is “not true,” and “my cat is so cuddly that I occasionally call him ‘cat-dog.'”
The Reddit user had wrongly thought it would hurt to be licked by a cat, that cats are just as hard to take care of as dogs, and that litter boxes are “disgusting”, but now sees “if you scoop it often, it never gets gross.”
The poster told Newsweek that they found Pawl in July 2025, and was told by a vet that he is likely around seven or eight years old.
A huge amount of people related to the post, which has racked up more than 72,000 upvotes in just a matter of days, as some commenters shared their own stories, one writing: “Same! I grew up with dogs and my entire family thought cats wouldn’t be as cool. WE WERE SO WRONG.”
“I was a dog person too until one void decided my home was his,” another said, using the affectionate term for a black cat, “and now I have five cats lol.”
One commenter praised the post, and wrote that “people that have no experience with cats have such a low opinion of them. They’re some of the sweetest animals and the fact that they do it on their own time makes it so much better.”
And one user joked to the original poster: “He came into your life specifically to teach you these things. And to make sure you get plenty [of] cuddles.”
Around two-thirds of American households have at least one pet, with 86.9 million homes in 2024, according to a report from Forbes.
Dogs remain the top dog in the U.S., with 65.1 million households owning a canine, and 46.5 million owning a cat. Millennials reportedly make up the largest percentage of pet owners at 33 percent, followed by Gen at 25 percent and baby boomers at 24 percent.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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