Disclaimer: Though I spend this entire interview/article discussing mine and others love of cats, I need to make it known that I have just as much love in my heart for man's best friend — dogs. Dogs are wonderful and seeing that wagging tail of my own puppy makes my day so much brighter.

Ah, Cat Ladies. We know them. We love them. We claim to be them. Some more than others in all three cases, but as quickly as Tinder swept the online dating world, it also helped some of us realize that maybe our dating lives were bleaker than we hoped. Let's be honest, at least once we've all swiped right or left and thought for sure — this is it, this is the path to my final form as a Cat Lady.
And if you're shaking your head and saying "not me," I'm not calling you a liar but I don't think you're telling the truth.

See the Cat Lady is a state of mind. A presence, and essence if you may. You don't have to be literally surrounded by cats and covered in cat hair until ASPCA comes to take you away. The Cat Lady is a girl we all know (sometimes ourselves) who hasn't had the best of luck with dating, and has seen her more likely spending the rest of her life either by herself, or with her cat and a nice bottle of Moscato. We make fun of the Cat Lady, but we should be a little more understanding. Because as easy as it is to laugh, the truth is deep and dark and real — we are all a Cat Lady.

The first time I knew I was a certified (TM, put it on my resume type certified) was really only recently (surprisingly). I reached out with intention of holding my cats paw. Yeah, holding, like a well adjusted person would reach out and hold their SO's hand. It was only when she pulled away and gave me a dirty look did I realize — fuck, I'm a Cat Lady.

Since I knew I wasn't the only one with this problem I decided to sit down (or, you know, text because some people have actual jobs) a few of my favorite resident Cat Ladies, to ask them:

"When did you know you were a Cat Lady?"

1. "According to my parents I have literally loved cats since I was to fucking speak. But probably when I was begging them for my first cat at the age of three. I insisted on it being a little gray kitty, and that cat was my best friend for 13 years. The fat fucker." - Emma, Washington PA

So here we see that you're either born a Cat Lady, or you live long enough to see yourself to become ... okay, I was trying to make the Dark Knight quote work here. It didn't. However, as in Emma's case, some of us grow into our Cat Lady-dom and some of us knew from day one.

2. "[I] think about someone saying "it's me or the cat" and knowing full well their ass would be out on the street because I would choose Gibby and now Andariel over a dude any day. Dicks come and go, cat fur stays forever." - Catherine, Uniontown PA.

Cat's dedication to well, cats is all of us. She is the epitome of the Cat Lady - Cats before Sacks, Paws before Penis's, Kitty's before Kyle's. Your SO might put you down or not understand why you need to have an entire bottle of wine to yourself but your cat does.

3. "When I found myself in a kitten with my apartment...then all the love and snuggles came." -Caitrin, Pittsburgh PA.

To wrap it all up is Cait's response. And isn't the moment she knew she was a Cat Lady one we can all identify with? Not because Taylor Swift made being best friends with your cat "quirky" or "trendy," but for the real reason we love our pets so much. Sometimes you need a good snuggle after a long day, and when no one else is there, your cat (or dog, or hamster, not your fish though--do not snuggle your fish) will always be there waiting at the door for you.