This is my cat Leo. My sister says he’s ugly and doesn’t look like a cat. What do you guys think?

Well, the title comes directly from Reddit.com. I kept it intact because I think it's good and the first response that comes to my mind is that there are no ugly cats. I say that even though I have a page on one of my websites in which I show some 'ugly cats'. I defend the cats and the page was written some time ago. I disagree with it now. It's unfair to call cats ugly. We judge appearance by human standards and use stereotypes to do this.

Leo described as ugly. He is not. Photo: Reddit.com

You can't apply those stereotypes to cats. They are sentient creatures and you have to look at the character as more important than the appearance. And if a domestic cat is physically ugly by human standards it can only be because the cat was selectively bred to extreme by a cat breeder who has screwed up and created a cat with an undershot jaw or bulging eyes because they did a very bad job of artificial selection. So, it's a human fault. Or the cat might have been involved in an accident which causes an injury to the face. Under these circumstances it is unfair and unkind to call a cat ugly.

Associated page: There is also cat colour personality type stereotyping - click to read about it.

There are numerous reasons why a cat might look ugly, by our standards, but none of them justify calling the cat on this page ugly. We need to be more sensitive and tender towards fellow creatures.

An interesting point is that the Reddit user who published the photograph shows us a tabby cat who is distinctly not ugly by any standards. This is a perfectly normal tabby cat don't you agree? Many other Reddit users who commented on the picture say that he is handsome. But the question did provoke a heated debate which resulted in the comments section being shut down.

A moderator on the Reddit.com website said the following: "I am afraid to say that I have to lock the comments till this calms down. Be humane to others". And there are 637 comments so I can't read them all to find out what went on, but clearly people got a bit heated. However, the general gist, from what I have seen, reflects what I have said above. They think the cat is handsome and you can't call cats ugly because you got to look at the whole including their personality.

I think the problem was that people who commented started to attack the sister who said that this cat was ugly. It was unnecessary to do this, but for the life of me I can't see how the sister could describe this cat as ugly. They have strange standards. Perhaps they've been looking at too many humongous, awesome, Maine Coon cats which are outstanding. Perhaps they've been trawling through the Internet looking at all these high-profile purebred cats so that a humble moggy tabby cat suddenly looked ugly to them. I'm afraid she's wrong.

A lot of the purebred cats, which have a wonderful appearance, will probably be suffering in middle age and beyond with inherited health problems. Moggies are generally healthier than purebred cats. That's a factor when you assess beauty.

What do you think? Please comment. Thanks.

Ugly Cat Picture

The ugly cat picture is one of the many internet cults along the lines of the cheeseburger LOL pics. Many people like them but the cult is dying. Personally I don't like them. Sorry to be a killjoy. I just see either a sick cat, or a wet cat or a photoshopped cat or a badly bred cat with no future.

Uglly cat Yoda. Image in public domain

I don't know a thing about Yoda except this: he is bloody ugly. But what a shame. Someone created him. Shame on them. I feel sorry for Yoda. Although he does not feel sorry for himself as ugliness is a human concept. He appears to be a cat breeding nightmare mistake as nearly all ugly cats are. Read on please....

The first picture looks like a modern Siamese cat or an Oriental Shorthair that is patently overbred even for a cat that is already overdone:

Ugly cat? Yes, and because of misplaced selective breeding. Think of the cat. 

Above: I am not sure I would call this cat an ugly cat, actually. More a sad cat. Breeders like to breed large ears and an oriental style face (long). This fella has a very bony long face that looks artificial and the ears are horribly unnatural.

Ugly cat or sick cat?

The cat immediately above looks like a poorly bred orange tabby Exotic Shorthair with tear duct overflow and jaw misalignment. This is a cat that suffers because of irresponsible breeding and to call the cat ugly is unfair. Apparently deformities of the jaw or teeth are a hazard in breeding the Exotic Shorthair. I mention that on this page: Tabby and White Exotic Shorthair Cat. The picture below is another horrible mess of an attempt to breed a flat faced cat, probably the modern Persian. Madness. We don't see these failed attempts do we?

Badly bred Persian with jaw misalignment and tear duct overflow and more I suspect. A mess.

Ugly cat - yes I agree

Looks like a hairless cat that went wrong. Picture in public domain

The 4th and 5th of this fivesome are genuinely ugly. The 4th one is a very peculiar looking cat. The picture looks genuine. There are elements of the face that indicates that this cat is meant to be a Sphynx or a Peterbald (with a brush coat). But who knows? This cat could just be one of those anomalies. The hair is very thin so it might be hairless on a seasonal basis. He appears to have been in a fight as he has a scar on the nose. I could say the same about the 5th and last cat. A mess of a human creation. Botchy humans at the cat's expense.