Doechii, like many in the Black community, doesn’t think cats are friendly…but are they wrong?
TheGrio...
Doechii reignited a long-held debate about whether or not cats make for good pets, but research shows she may not be wrong.
Doechii is many things: a groundbreaking, innovative rapper and artist, a swamp princess, a queer icon, and apparently anti-cat.
On Monday, March 2, the 27-year-old Grammy-winning rap star took to Threads to express her thoughts on felines, and spoiler alert, they weren’t positive.
“People act like it’s a crime to dislike cats when they genuinely aren’t friendly animals,” she began in the post that has since received thousands of likes and comments and hundreds of reshares.
“They don’t wanna be domestic just leave em alone,” she continued. “Like it’s not organic I’m sorrryyy be fr it’s rare that cats are immediately lovey without years of pain and work put in. yall be scratched and beat tf up by your own animals I can’t lmaoooo.”
In a follow-up post, the “Anxiety” rapper added a video clip of Tiffany Pollard getting booed and things thrown at her from the audience during a “Flavor of Love” reunion.
“Me vs Cat owners,” she wrote.
While plenty of people rushed into her comments to defend their beloved felines, Doechii, born Jaylah Ji’mya Hickmon, is far from alone in her position. In fact, skepticism about cats is practically a cultural tradition in many Black households. Black cat owners have heard every critique imaginable: they’re sneaky, they’re strong-willed, they’re unfriendly, they don’t listen, they don’t greet guests, they nibble at food all day instead of finishing their plate, and sometimes they sit on your chest in the middle of the night like a tiny furry sleep paralysis demon.
And honestly? The critics are not entirely wrong.
Cats simply haven’t had as long to adapt to humans as dogs have. Humans have been selectively breeding and domesticating dogs for tens of thousands of years, shaping them to read human social cues and work alongside us. Cats, on the other hand, essentially domesticated themselves after realizing human settlements had plenty of mice. Their closest ancestor, the African wildcat, is still a pretty solitary and independent creature. So compared to dogs, cats can come off… aloof.
This is coming from someone who adored and lived with a notoriously chaotic orange tabby for a full decade. Loving a cat is less like owning a pet and more like negotiating a tiny roommate agreement with a creature that believes it owns the lease. But even in my home, like in many Black households, basic manners applied. The cat didn’t have to mingle all night, but he was expected to at least come greet guests before disappearing to his private stalking corner. After that he could go sit somewhere, judging everyone in silence.
The funny part is that despite all the cultural side-eye, cats seem to absolutely love Black people. Mine certainly did. Whenever I hosted parties, he would happily lounge among my Black friends, who largely ignored him and respected his space. Meanwhile, my non-Black friends who crouched down, baby-talked, and tried to pet him immediately were the ones getting hissed at.
Cats, it turns out, thrive on boundaries. And if there’s one thing Black folks know how to do, it’s mind our business.
So yes, people who dislike cats probably deserve a little grace. They’re strange creatures with confusing emotional cues and the occasional urge to knock something valuable off a table for sport. Disliking them isn’t exactly a moral failing.
But quietly, relations between humans and their feline roommates do seem to be improving. According to the American Pet Association’s 2025 Dog & Cat report, cat ownership rose by 23% in 2024, and households with multiple cats increased by 8%. More owners are also actively training their cats than in years past, including leash training them so they can safely explore outdoors, which tends to mellow out some of their more chaotic instincts.
So cats, much like dogs, are not going anywhere anytime soon. And as more people learn how to live with their particular brand of chaos, the relationship between humans and their most judgmental housemates may continue to evolve.
Even if the cats themselves remain unconvinced.
In her most recent post on Threads, which included a series of glamour shots of the artist she simply wrote, “Purrr.”