Single, Covered in Cat Hair, and Looking for Love....

McDuff, a/k/a Casanova, at your service

A press release came across my desk recently with news Americans have known for ages: pets make the perfect live-in lover. Seems a UK dating service, PARSHIP, did a study that says more and more singles in England are turning to pets for companionship. What took them so long? That's the good news. The bad news? One in four men wouldn't date a woman with two or more cats, (their loss). What's more, owning a pet could reduce the chances of finding a mate by 40%.

I can relate. Before I met my enlightened, cat-tolerating husband, I had my share of dating problems. I was "cat-egorically undesirable." I didn't own a skirt, sweater, or coat that wasn't covered in cat hair. My hands (and my brief case) continually smelled of shrimp, salmon, and (real) tuna. My furniture was slashed to smithereens, as was my bank account, what with lavishing expensive collars and cat condos on the puddies. In most men's eyes, I had too much animal magnetism.

Hey, but at least these guys dated a woman with cats. And one or two even offered me the big one: commitment-with one teeny, tiny caveat: dump the furballs. As if!

Still, I tend to see the cat nip jar as half full not half empty. So if I found a partner who is warm, playful, loving, dependable-someone who loves me, three cats and all-you can, too. But, meantime, while you're waiting, you already have the perfect live-in lover: your puddy.

Ever have to make a man vs. cat or a woman vs. cat choice? Want to share?