PASADENA, Calif. – The annual gathering of cat owners on the Pasadena Convention Center, referred to as CatCon, began late Saturday morning.
In the middle's grand ballroom and exhibition area, hundreds of holiday makers wearing costumes or wearing cat ears, furry tails and shirts with witty puns strolled around and marveled at tons of of exhibits selling cat-related goods and products.
But amidst the various cat lovers, 43-year-old Shannon Peace stood out for one more reason – along with her T-shirt. On the front it read: “Childless Cat Ladies for Kamala.”
“I had picked out a different T-shirt for today; it had several cats on it and it said, 'Yuck, guys,'” she said, giggling. “But then he made these comments.”
Peace was referring to Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who made headlines last week when a video clip resurfaced of a 2021 interview with then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson through which Vance compared Democratic leaders to “childless cat ladies.”
“We are effectively run in this country by the Democrats, by our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are unhappy with their own lives and the choices they've made and therefore want to make the rest of the country unhappy as well,” he said. “It's just a basic fact — look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC — the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.”
Harris has two stepchildren and Buttigieg was within the means of adopting twins on the time.
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But the clip, together with others through which Vance called people without children “sociopathic,” “psychotic,” and “mentally disturbed,” went viral on social media and sparked widespread backlash, including from celebrities resembling comedian Chelsea Handler and actor Jennifer Aniston.
“All I can say is… Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is lucky enough to have children of her own one day,” she posted on her Instagram story. “I hope she doesn't have to resort to IVF as a second option because you are trying to take that away from her too.”
Vance later addressed his comments on the “Megyn Kelly Show,” saying it was a sarcastic comment toward the Democratic Party.
“This is not a criticism of people who don't have children. … This is about criticizing the Democratic Party for becoming anti-family and anti-child,” he said.
But for Peace, she felt the senator's comments were an attack.
“They're talking about me, this is who I am: I'm childless by choice, I have cats by choice. It's like he was pointing the finger at me, and I didn't appreciate that,” she said. “I'm someone who never misses an opportunity to vote, and I have a stake in the future of this country, so I was very offended.”
She said that many individuals on the convention complimented her on her T-shirt.
“The feedback I get is not so much about him, which I think is great, nobody mentions his name, nobody cares about him, but the idea that we need to stop marginalizing people,” she said. “I think people are fed up with it … and to pretend that anyone in this country has less to lose or is a less important person because of their choices is repugnant to most of us.”
Cat conventions are anything but political. That was evident at Saturday's event, where guest speakers and panelists never mentioned Vance or his comments. Instead, they focused on educating the general public about research studies and improving cat health.
Elsewhere on the convention, families, couples and single men and ladies lined as much as adopt kittens. More than 100 could be adopted by the top of the day. Some people lined as much as take photos with cat stars or members of the Australian Firefighters Calendar.
Among them was Virginia Sambrano, 72, of Lawndale, who attended the convention for the primary time along with her daughter. She said she was enthusiastic about meeting the firefighters after seeing them on television. She said she took a photograph with them and acquired their calendar.
“I’m a Gemini, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy June,” she said, laughing.
When asked if Mr. June had signed her calendar, Sambrano paused.
“Oh, I have to go back.”
Susan Michals, founder and organizer of the convention, said the two-day event – now in its ninth 12 months – serves as a gathering place for people to have fun cat culture while also learning concerning the latest trends and products.
But CatCon, which attendees describe as a comic-con for cat lovers, also tries to debunk the parable of the “cat lady.”
“Frankly, 'cat lady' is sexist when used negatively,” Michals said. “It implies the opposite of a fulfilled woman, but we don't live in the 20th century anymore.”
As for Vance, Michals said his comments only caused divisions.
“I don't really think about him, but he obviously thinks a lot about cat people.”
It was just after 11 a.m. when Melissa Bell, 36, Felinious Booth with vintage clothing. Bell said that since she heard Vance's remarks, she had hoped someone would have designed a T-shirt that was a dig on the senator.
Hanging from a coat hanger on the stand that morning was a black T-shirt that read: “Childless cat lady ready to impose my misery on the conservatives.”
She bought it immediately.
Dug Rusinek, 39, owner of Felinious, a Florida-based clothing brand, said the thought for the shirt got here from an Instagram post he made shortly after the senator's remarks. He said people told him to make it right into a T-shirt, so he did.
“We're just guys in a world of cat ladies,” he said. “We're just here to support the ladies.”
Rusinek said he disagreed with Vance's comments.
“I don't understand people who have a problem with pets or female cats,” he added. “Women should not be breeding machines.”
He said that folks without children could also care concerning the world and asked why global warming was not a greater concern for Conservatives in the event that they cared about families and youngsters.
Nearby, Bell took a photograph wearing her latest shirt. It was the primary time she and her roommate had attended the convention. They had heard about it through social media.
“So far, we're having a lot of fun,” she said. “I think it's great that so many people love cats so much.”
Bell said she and her roommate wanted to take a look at various odds and ends and stop by the adoption center. She said she recently lost her two cats – Boogers and Shy Guy – and each were over 10 years old after they died.
“They had a long, happy life,” she said.
Bell said she has at all times had a cat and added that she was pretty sure a kitten could be adopted that very same day.
“I'm pushing for the cat,” she said, giggling. “[My roommate] don't know, but we're buying a cat today.”
At the top of the day, she had successfully adopted a kitten and named him Homer.
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