Merayad Ali, with his tousled black hair and smoldering eyes, looks like he belongs on the cover of a romance novel. But the real heartthrob in his life? His black cat, Zeytin. TikTok knows him as a “hot cat dad,” and his millions of fans — including plenty of swooning women (me included) — seem to agree.
A quick scroll through #CatDad on TikTok, which boasts over 360,000 posts, reveals a growing trend: men with cats aren’t just accepted — they’re desired. Other hugely popular #CatDad creators like Nathan Kehn, Cat Daddy Dan, t0edirt, Phoebe The Scottish Fold, and @Outdoor Bengal prove that feline-loving men are reshaping dating perceptions.
This trend seems to contradict a 2020 Colorado State University study suggesting that women are less likely to date men posing with cats. More recent research finds that 14% more daters swipe right on profiles featuring a cat. TikTok’s skewing female audience of 61% shows that cat dads aren’t just likable — they’re dateable. (I, for one, definitely swipe right for cat daddies.)
Ali, for his part, embraces the label. “My followers refer to me as the ‘hot cat dad.’ If they say so, then I agree with it,” he tells Betches over email. His videos regularly rack up millions of views, often featuring adoring comments like, “You are the most handsome man in the world… I love you ❤️❤️❤️” and “Google: how to be a cat 🐈.”
@merayad_ @nourams88 ♬ Originalton – 𖣂
“Cats have often been thought of as feminine, which upholds outdated beliefs about gender roles,” says Jessica Maddox, co-director at the University of Alabama’s Office of Politics, Communication, and Media. “Trends like #CatDad help change that narrative and show that there’s no such thing as a ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ animal.” I crush on dudes who boldly show off their softer side — whether rocking pink or proclaiming their love for their kitties to the world, like NFL star (and cat dad) Jamaal Williams.
Some TikTokers are actively challenging old stereotypes. “I have a lot of videos flipping the script, making fun of people who don’t like cats and making it a red flag,” says Nathan Kehn (aka Nathan The Cat Lady). His comment section is flooded with marriage proposals, like “We should definitely get married” and “Omg 🥰🥰🥰🥰 I love you.”
Dan Foster (@catdaddy.dan) takes a different approach, using humor to draw attention to cat dads. One of his viral hits compares women to cats, playfully suggesting that both need space and independence. The video racked up over 700,000 views and grew his account by 5,000 followers. “It gave me faith in humanity,” he says, pointing out that most viewers got the joke. Commenters like this one took their shot: “Aww 🥰 this is why women find men with cats attractive!”
@catdaddy.dan Who agrees ? #catsoftiktok #kittycat #herekittykittykitty #catdaddy #women #relationship ♬ Carrying Your Love – David Morris
There are over 800 comments on the video, including this cheeky exchange:
“Marry me? 😻,” writes @meghanjoneil.
“You don’t want to take me to dinner first?” Foster replied.
“Sure, but I mean, We’ve got our whole lives ahead of us to go for dinner 😅👩🏼🤝👨,” she quipped in return.
Another #CatDad, Drew Chiodo (@t0edirt), found viral success via a running gag on his channel that his wife, Lindsey, believes their cat Roswell prefers Drew simply because of his beard. One of their most popular videos shows him testing this theory by donning a fake beard — only for Roswell to cozy up to him immediately. “Move, kitty, it’s my turn now,” jokes a commenter.
@t0edirt Level up 🧔🏻♀️ #catsoftiktok #catdaddy #catlover #foryou ♬ original sound Lindsey
For Kehn, cat dad content is about the bigger picture. He launched Tabby on SharkTank — a dating app for cat lovers — alongside fellow creator Sterling Davis, the so-called cat “Trap King.” He’s also starring in Cat Daddies, a documentary about nine men whose lives have been transformed by their felines, and is starting a cat-fostering program.
“It’s funny that #CatDad is trending,” Kehn says. “At CatCon in 2019, I said I wanted cat videos to be as big as dog videos. It was my goal to make cats cool.”
Judging by all the fawning females in the comments sections, cat dads aren’t just cool — they’re dateable. So, do TikTok #CatDads score more dates? If the comment sections indicate anything, the answer is a resounding yes.
