When you hear the phrase “crazy cat lady,” you most likely imagine a single woman cooped up at home with an abundance of feline friends. Yet, is that really an accurate representation of people who love cats? Photographer David Williams thinks not, so he’s set out to prove otherwise through his Men with Cats series. Featuring musicians, soldiers, artists, CEOs, truck drivers, tattoo artists, and more, this project demonstrates that anyone and everyone can be a cat lover. “The first guy I photographed was my coworker at a grocery store,” Williams writes in his book. “He had a big beard, listened to loud music, worked out a lot, and loved his cat. I began finding more and more men whom I would never have suspected to be cat lovers.”
To defeat the “crazy cat lady” stereotype and show the world the adorable relationship shared between many men and their cats, there’s now a Men with Cats book. There’s also a submission form on William’s Tumblr, where you can celebrate your very own man-cat duo. The artist concludes, “I hope that seeing these portraits and reading these stories will encourage you to rethink stereotypes about gender and personality types.”
Above: “Most people that live in the mountains have dogs. It’s part of the ‘mountain man’ attitude, I guess. I’ve just always loved cats. I grew up with them.” – Brent with Sammy
“Cats can be really demanding. When she wants food or treats, she can be relentless until she gets what she wants. The thing she wants most though is my lap and my attention. If my lap is not available, the next best thing is to lay on top of whatever I am working on. It’s a small price to pay for unconditional love and friendship.” – John with Yuki
“Now that my wife and I have two kids, it’s been hard to give our first born – Freya – as much love and attention as we used to give her. Each evening, when we’re finally done putting the kids to bed, it’s natural to want some time to ourselves. Yet, that’s when Freya spots her opportunity and comes looking for love. Of course, she usually wins.” – Alex with Freya
“I was traveling through New Jersey with a friend when we stopped at a McDonald’s rest stop. I heard her meowing when we were getting into the car and I went to inspect the dumpster area it was coming from. Not sure if someone had dropped her off or if she had wandered there and gotten lost. My friend helped me grab her and she came home with me. She was so sweet and she seemed grateful to have been saved. She ate some of my Filet-O-Fish sandwich on the way home.” – Matt with Filet-O-Fish
“He likes TV, salmon and BBQ chicken. His favorite shows are CNN, Walking Dead, and all of the Housewives brands.” – Amani with Pozza
“The big one is Francis Douglas Mayonnaise. His previous humans chose the name Francis, which totally works as he has a very dignified and distinct demeanor and face. We added in Douglas Mayonnaise because he’s trying to become the fattest cat in the world by eating everything in sight, including his sister’s food.” – Chris with Francis Mayo and Bean Sprout
“Since the moment we saw his picture from the shelter, we felt in love with his little face and his blue tender eyes. We knew that he was perfect to be living in our home and became part of our family.” – Ben and Antonio with Donatello in Mexico City
“I’m of the camp that believes there’s significantly more depth to animals than we’d normally consider. Maybe I’m just prone to transposing my own thoughts onto him and personifying his actions, but to me he’s more insightful and sensitive than a lot of people I know.” – Andrew with Haroun
“Arthur is a female, which we didn’t know when we adopted them. The vet told us after we had them fixed. But we decided to raise him as male, because we already painted his room blue and decorated it in a baseball and race car theme. Just kidding, but we did buy him a blue collar. And cats don’t seem to care about gender.” – Jim with Bea and Arthur
“He’s been known to drop smelly treats wherever the creature he hates most sleeps.” – Ian with MJ
“After we took her home from the shelter we spent a few days thinking out loud about a name for her. Eventually my girlfriend said, ‘Cocoa?’ and I said, ‘I’m in love with it.’” – David with Cocoa
“Cats are zen. Living in Mexico City and sharing this space with 20-million-plus people is pretty hectic. The best part of my day is coming home and closing the door and finding my six cats at home. Best stress relief.” – Paul with Cuauhtemoc and Mateo
“I’m not only a cat lover, to me, any animal’s life is important and I have spent my life with other species. Nevertheless, cats mean a lot to me because recently I have found love in them.” – Santiago with Adele and Nikos in Mexico City
“He loves to be around people. He wants to get to know everyone in the room.” – Zenos with Othello
“He likes being shaved to look like a lion. When he is done being shaved he walks around the house with a sassy attitude.” – Neil with Linus
“My mom had come across Jackie as a stray while getting her oil changed. The employees didn’t want to feed her because then she would keep coming back. So my mom swooped her up and I ended up with her.” – Justin with Jackie
“She’s very sweet to me when I’m sick. I once had a fever of over 100 and I fell asleep on top of her, and she just let me.” – Harris With Lola
David Williams: Website | Instagram | Tumblr | Book
via [Mashable]
All photos via David Williams.