History Main / MenLikeDogsWomenLikeCats

* ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' does this with the AnimalMotifs of the Eva pilots. Shinji, the only male pilot, is thematically associated with dogs, while both Asuka and Mari are associated with cats.

* In one ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' short, the cat Tom and dog Spike are owned by a pair of spouses. When their owners decide to keep only one pet, the husband insists on getting rid of Tom, while the wife insists on getting rid of Spike. The owners decide that whoever catches the mouse (Jerry) gets to stay. Tom and Spike end up tearing up the house trying to catch Jerry and are both then thrown out.

This might be a parallel indicator of MenActWomenAre. Dogs are traditionally used for working (with dogs as purely companion animals being a relatively recent occurrence): they herd sheep, sniff luggage for bombs, chew on criminals, guard the stash, et cetera. Cats tend to [[CatsAreLazy laze about not doing much]], except disarranging small items, and they're largely indoor pets (which is why [[IntrovertedCatPerson loners love 'em]]). Cats also have this [[CatsAreSuperior entitlement attitude]]: "What have you brought me today, [[SonOfAnApe furless ape]]?" Thus, Men and Dogs Act, while Women and Cats simply Are.

* Inverted in the ''Literature/RedDwarf'' episode "Parallel Universe"; in the GenderFlippedAlternateUniverse, Deb Lister evidently smuggled a dog on board the ship, as opposed to Dave's cat in the main universe.

* In "Let's Get Married" by Music/TheProclaimers, the singer tells his fiance they can have a cat "as long as it barks".

* ''VideoGame/AntonballDeluxe'' features Anton's dog (a terrier) and Annie's cat (an unidentified species) as playable characters, both of which [[UncattyResemblance resemble their respective owners]].

* ''VideoGame/AntonballDeluxe'' features Anton's dog (a terrier) and Annie's cat (an unidentified species) as playable characters, both if which [[UncattyResemblance resemble their respective owners]].

The prevalence of [[TheInternetIsForCats cat videos on the Internet]] has diluted the prevalence of this trope somewhat in recent years. It might even count as an inversion since Internet-based activities are often seen as [[ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet stereotypically male]]. If a couple consists of a female cat-lover and a male dog-lover, it's often a sign of OppositesAttract.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' has a young couple named Romio and Julietta, who have a pet dog and cat respectively.

* Subverted in Creator/StephenKing's short story "L.T.'s Theory of Pets" in ''Literature/EverythingsEventual''. L.T. owns a Jack Russell (bought by his wife) and his wife owns a Siamese (bought by L.T.) but both loathe "their" pets and get on much better with the one supposedly belonging to their spouse. (Although he's at pains to point out that both were given with the best of intentions, not a fake "getting your partner something you want yourself" gift.)

* Most of the human characters in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/OliverAndCompany'' are male and own dogs. Fagin has the dogs Dodger, Francis, Einstein, Rita, and Tito. CardCarryingVillain Sykes has the Dobermans Roscoe and Desoto. Young Jenny Foxworth, however, adopts TheWoobie kitten Oliver. There's also Georgette the show poodle in the Foxworth home, but she's framed as a Foxworth asset rather than as a family pet.

Man's Best Friend is a dog, but Women's Best Friend is a cat... or, at least according to fiction. In real life, of course, people's preference for cats or dogs isn't tied to their gender (at least not to anywhere near this extent).

A male character who has a particular fondness for cats (especially CuteKitten) might be InTouchWithHisFeminineSide (though men who like [[PantheraAwesome big]] [[KingOfBeasts cats]] are mostly aversions), while a female who likes dogs might be a bit of a {{tomboy}} (though if it's [[PreciousPuppy small]] [[MisterMuffykins dogs]] or [[CunningLikeAFox foxes]] then she's usually [[GirlyGirl anything but]]). [[AllDogsArePurebred Certain dog breeds]], such as hounds or retrievers, are usually owned by men because they're "manly"-seeming working dogs. Male characters are almost never seen owning [[DogStereotype "girly" dogs]], companion breeds like poodles[[note]]Interestingly, poodles, even the smaller variations, ''are'' a hunting breed, but their frilly pelts have led to them being seen as only cutesy companions by many[[/note]], chihuahuas, or Malteses. Cats on the other hand (at least the domesticated ones) don't have these restrictions much, mainly due to [[SmallReferencePools most people not recognizing more than a few select breeds at most]], though [[CatStereotype longhaired cats and hairless cats]] are sometimes depicted as feminine due to their high maintenance. Big wild cats, on the other hand, are usually seen as "manly" animals in many cultures, even in Western ones, while foxes, like certain dogs, are portrayed as "[[FoxyVixen feminine]]" canines in certain cultures and [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom especially modern media]].

A male character who has a particular fondness for cats (especially CuteKitten) might be InTouchWithHisFeminineSide (though men who like [[PantheraAwesome big]] [[KingOfBeasts cats]] are mostly aversions), while a female who likes dogs might be a bit of a {{tomboy}} (though if it's [[PreciousPuppy small]] [[MisterMuffykins dogs]] or [[CunningLikeAFox foxes]] then she's usually [[GirlyGirl anything but]]). [[AllDogsArePurebred Certain dogs breeds]], such as hounds or retrievers, are usually owned by men because they're "manly"-seeming working dogs. Male characters are almost never seen owning [[DogStereotype "girly" dogs]], companion breeds like poodles[[note]]Interestingly, poodles, even the smaller variations, ''are'' a hunting breed, but their frilly pelts have led to them being seen as only cutesy companions by many[[/note]], chihuahuas, or malteses. Cats on the other hand (at least the domesticated ones) don't have these restrictions much, mainly due to [[SmallReferencePools most people not recognizing more than a few select breeds at most]], though [[CatStereotype longhaired cats and hairless cats]] are sometimes depicted as feminine due to their high maintenance. Big wild cats, on the other hand, are usually seen as "manly" animals in many cultures, even in Western ones, while foxes, like certain dogs, are portrayed as "[[FoxyVixen feminine]]" canines in certain cultures and [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom especially modern media]].

The prevalence of [[TheInternetIsForCats cat videos on the Internet]] has diluted the prevalence of this trope somewhat in recent years. It might even count as an inversion, since Internet-based activities are often seen as [[ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet stereotypically male]]. If a couple consists of a female cat-lover and a male dog-lover, it's often a sign of OppositesAttract.

Also see ABoyAndHisX, CrazyCatLady, KindheartedCatLover, CatStereotype, CanineCompanion and DogStereotype. Compare to FemaleFelineMaleMutt, which is another way the dog/cat gender stereotypes can play out, and BoysLikeCreepyCritters and AllGirlsLikePonies, for other ways liking certain animals is stereotyped by gender.

* Most of the human characters in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/OliverAndCompany'' are male and own dogs. Fagin has the dogs Dodger, Francis, Einstein, Rita and Tito. CardCarryingVillain Sykes has the dobermans Roscoe and Desoto. Young Jenny Foxworth, however, adopts TheWoobie kitten Oliver. There's also Georgette the show poodle in the Foxworth home, but she's framed as a Foxworth asset rather than as a family pet.

* Inverted in ''Literature/EachLittleUniverse'': male protagonists TM and Veggie own two cats (or, at least, have unofficially adopted them), while female survival show host Riegel O'Ryan has a dog. FemaleFelineMaleMutt is also inverted, since the dog is female while both cats are male.

* In the Lucy Maud Montgomery story "''The Quarantine at Alexander Abrahams''" from ''[[Literature/AnneOfGreenGables Chronicles of Avonlea]]'' man-hater/old maid Angelina [=MacPherson=] and woman-hater/old bachelor Alexander Abraham are trapped together by a quarantine for awhile. She has cats (but only brings one with her into quarantine), he has a dog. They hate each others' pets, but she does feed the dog. By the by, her cat quickly establishes dominance over his dog.
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', it is said that dogs have an affinity for male channelers whereas cats likes females, although this is never central to the plot.

* Inverted in series 10 of Series/{{Big Brother}} UK, with housemates Sophie and Freddie. Sophie always talked about her beloved pet Chihuahuas, as part of a task she was given the name "Dogface", and actually quite liked it! Freddie said he preferred cats. (Sometimes he even purred!). In seperate occasions, Sophie wore dog facepaint and Freddie wore cat facepaint. Their personalities fitted some dog/cat stereotypes. Sophie was a DumbBlonde, which could go with the trope that DogsAreDumb, while Freddie was an eccentric loner, which may go with a male version of CrazyCatLady, as well as IntrovertedCatPerson.
* Invoked in a BBC documentary ''Cats V. Dogs: Which Is Best?'', which was discussing and testing how cats and dogs compare on intelligence, eyesight, sense of smell, hearing, and so on. It was light-heartedly presenting it as a kind of battle between the two species, and they had the female presenter, Liz Bonnin, fighting on behalf of cats, while the male presenter, Chris Packham, was fighting on behalf of dogs.

* In one ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' short, the cat Tom and dog Spike are owned by a pair of spouse. When their owners decide to keep only one pet, the husband insists on getting rid of Tom, while the wife insists on getting rid of Spike. The owners decide that whoever catches the mouse (Jerry) gets to stay. Tom and Spike end up tearing up the house trying to catch Jerry and are both then thrown out.

** Subverted in "The Patriot Act", when Hank offers to take are of a soldier's pet while he's away on duty and is horrified to discover that said pet, named Duke, is a cat. As Duke proves to be quite a handful, Hank makes several insulting comments at his owner's expense, just short of saying he's gay.

* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''; Billy has a cat named Milkshakes, while Mandy has a dog named Saliva.

Man's Best Friend is a dog, however Women's Best Friend is a cat... Or, at least according to fiction. In real life, of course, it's not like that.

This might be a parallel indicator of MenActWomenAre. Dogs are traditionally used for working (with dogs as strict companion animals being a relatively recent occurrence): they herd sheep, sniff luggage for bombs, chew on criminals, guard the stash, et cetera. Cats tend to [[CatsAreLazy laze about not doing much]], except disarranging small items, and they're largely inside pets (which is why [[IntrovertedCatPerson loners love 'em]]). Cats also have this [[CatsAreSuperior entitlement attitude]]: "What have you brought me today, [[SonOfAnApe furless ape]]?" Thus, Men and Dogs Act, while Women and Cats simply Are.

A male character who has a particular fondness for cats (especially CuteKitten) might be InTouchWithHisFeminineSide (though men who like [[PantheraAwesome big]] [[KingOfBeasts cats]] are mostly aversions), while a female who likes dogs might be a bit of a {{tomboy}} (though if it's [[PreciousPuppy small]] [[MisterMuffykins dogs]] or [[CunningLikeAFox foxes]] then she's usually [[GirlyGirl anything but]]). [[AllDogsArePurebred Certain dogs breeds]], such as hounds or retrievers, are usually owned by men because they're "manly" seeming work-dogs. Male characters are almost never seen owning [[DogStereotype "girly" dogs]], companion breeds like Poodles[[note]]Interestingly, Poodles, even the smaller variations, ''are'' a hunting breed, but their frilly pelts have led to them being seen as only cutesy companions by many[[/note]], Chihuahuas, or Malteses. Cats on the other hand (at least the domesticated ones) don't have these restrictions much, mainly due to [[SmallReferencePools most people not recognizing more than a few select breeds at most]], though [[CatStereotype long-furred cats and hairless cats]] are sometimes depicted as feminine due to their high-maintence. Big wild cats on the other hand are usually seen as "manly" animals in many cultures, even in Western ones, while foxes, like certain dogs, are portrayed as "[[FoxyVixen feminine]]" canines in certain cultures and [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom especially modern media]].

The prevalence of [[TheInternetIsForCats cat videos on the Internet]] has diluted the prevalence of this trope somewhat in recent years. It might even count as an inversion, since internet-based activities are often seen as [[ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet stereotypically male]]. If a couple consists of a female cat lover and a male dog lover, it's often a sign of OppositesAttract.

* This is a common trope for pet food ads, which usually feature men with dogs and women with cats. A major example are Mars Petcare's famous products: Pedigree (dog food) and Whiskas (cat food), in which even the narrators are male and female, respectively.
** Subverted with Blue Buffalo, which has woman dog owners listing off ingredients in food they feed to their dogs.