I'm a single lady who loves cats, but don't call me crazy

We need to ditch the image of female cat-lovers being eccentric, says Jenny McEntegart, who meets one woman with five felines who insists they are not a substitute for a partner

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It’s a stereotype that has lingered for decades, rooted in outdated assumptions about women, marriage, and loneliness.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?