Cat ladies, unite!

THERE are cat lovers and there are cat ladies. The difference? The latter love cats blindly that they become immune to being stereotyped as lonely spinsters or career-oriented women who hoard cats.

Nothing could be further from the truth when one meets the current administrators of a new Facebook group called Cats in the Philippines (CITP). Young, outgoing and funny, Cathlyn Caballero, Myla Tuazon and Sheena Ipapo are proud cat ladies hoping to build a bigger community of cat lovers online.

(From left to right) Cathlyn, Myla and Sheena of Cats in the Philippines. Their fun attitude shatters the crazy cat lady image of being old, lonely and depressed. They formed the CITP Facebook group to build a bigger community of cat lovers online. (Photo by MetroPets)

Since being formed three months ago, CITP has already gathered over 1,500 members. The three “admins” are aware that there are older and bigger local cat groups on Facebook. They say the more the merrier, and they believe they can grow their membership fast. The plan is to have at least 5,000 members by December.

The CITP logo. CITP had this emblazoned on black T-shirts, which makes cat hair more visible but something that never bothers cat lovers.

Cats in the Philippines is a medium for members to discuss things related to cats and to find buyers and sellers of cats and cat products. It allows members to organize themselves as one cohesive group that can raise funds for animal causes, endorse legitimate cat breeders, and promote breed equality.

As with all other Facebook groups, CITP encourages members to be respectful of each other and avoid posting remarks that will cause animosities among members.

Tuazon told MetroPets that CITP is looking at product partnerships and event sponsorships to support the group's future activities.   --  AJB