Aoife Diamond with her cats. "Once I met them, I knew I couldn’t leave them behind"
The phrase ‘crazy cat lady’ conjures up an image: An older woman, living alone, surrounded by cats because she somehow missed out on the life she was supposed to have.
It’s a stereotype that has lingered for decades, rooted in outdated assumptions about women, marriage, and loneliness. But in 2026, does it still have any place?
When pop star Taylor Swift signed off an Instagram post as ‘Childless Cat Lady’, she reclaimed a phrase that had long been used as an insult to women. The label suddenly became less about shame and more about refusing to apologise for living life on your own terms.
Aoife Diamond, 41, lives alone and recently fostered a cat and her four kittens. Aoife teaches English in the day and in the evening travels to elderly people’s homes to care for them. She isn’t a ‘crazy cat lady’, but a very busy woman whose instinct is to care for others.
Aoife adopted the cats after being contacted by a local rescue shelter. The mother is only nine months old — a babe herself — and the kittens are only three weeks old. It wasn’t an impulsive decision by Aoife or an attempt to fill a void. It was simply an opportunity to help animals that desperately needed a home.
“I had signed up with a local shelter at Christmas,” says Aoife, from Westport, Co Mayo. “They contacted me a month ago and I was told how they were rescued from an owner who dumped them. I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen to them if nobody took them.
I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I could help, and once I met them, I knew I couldn’t leave them behind.
People might assume a single woman with a bunch of cats must be lonely. Aoife says not. “People seem to confuse living alone with being lonely,” she says. “I have wonderful friends, a busy social life, and a career I enjoy. Going home to a quiet house doesn’t mean I’m isolated. It just means I enjoy my own space.”
Aoife finds it amusing that she might be considered a ‘crazy cat lady’.
I think it’s hilarious, to be honest. Can anyone explain why a dog is considered a man’s best friend, but if a woman has a cat she’s labelled ‘crazy’? It’s laughable.
“They’re both animals that bring companionship, affection, and joy. Why is one seen as admirable and the other holds a negative connotation?”
The stereotype says far more about society than it does about women who happen to own cats.
Society has long celebrated the image of a dog as a ‘man’s best friend’. A male walking his dog is often viewed as active, dependable, and companionable. Yet women with cats have frequently been portrayed as eccentric or socially unsuccessful.
The comparison raises an uncomfortable question. If Aoife were a 41-year-old single man living alone with a dog, would the narrative be the same? Probably not. His home might be described as a bachelor pad rather than a lonely house. His dog would likely be seen as a loyal companion rather than a substitute for a partner. Friends might admire his independence, describing him as someone enjoying his freedom until the right person came along.
