Cat ladies

I’m not a cat person — mostly due to a silvery scar on my arm that I got as a child from the claws of my neighbor’s grumpy tabby cat. Also, cats make me sneeze and I think litter boxes are gross. As a teenager I had a boyfriend that had a Himalayan cat that he spoke to using a baby voice. It irked me so much that I broke up with him after two short weeks. Our relationship's demise was the cat’s fault.

Despite my cat issues, I’m not completely against the current feline frenzy popping up on t-shirts, sweaters, charm necklaces, and even iPhone cases. While I wouldn’t ever purchase anything cat themed, I do appreciate the kitschiness of the trend.

I ran into the following cat lovers out and about in SD.

First up is 22-year-old Christina Garofalo who wore a cardigan with the oversized face of a tiger on the back of it. She paired her feline inspired jacket with dark denim jeans and a pair of knee high Hunter rain boots. Garofalo is a manager at Windsor, where she purchased her feline themed cardigan. Her lust-worthy graphite gray Hunter rain boots retail for $140 at Nordstrom.

In Normal Heights Stacey Dent took a more subtle approach with her black and gold cat purse. She paired it with a faux leather jacket, gap jeans and beanie.

“I scored this bag in the lost in found at my work,” Dent works at Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago.

Dent is a cat lover, but doesn’t take her adoration to the extreme. Apart from the bag, she doesn’t have anything else cat themed.

“I did buy my sister a pair of hilarious space-cat leggings for her birthday,” says Dent.

Hot Topic sells a pair of space cat leggings for $9.99.

Lastly, Giselle Garcia ditched the cat apparel and instead went with a statement-making cat eye.

“I always wear cat eye make-up,” the 19-year-old Cuyamaca college student told me.

Garcia is a graphic design major. She wore a black sweatshirt with eye popping gold stud detailing on the shoulders. She also wore a pair of black Drop Dead jeans.

“Drop Dead Clothing is my favorite brand. I love their jeans. They are a European brand,” said Garcia.