Everyone thinks that in order to be a 'cat' person, you have to own a minimum of 2 cats, or have owned cats at some point in your life. The stereotypical 'cat' person is labeled uptight, snobby, and absolutely can't tolerate dogs. Well, I'm here to break all of those stereotypes and bring light to a happy medium the cat vs dog world seems to often forget exists.

Growing up, I had always loved dogs and cats. I wanted 20 of each if my parents let me, and rest assured I had a mountain full of kitty and puppy plushes. I pretended they were my pets and each one had their own name, personality and preferred nickname.

Unfortunately for me, my dad is SUPER allergic to cat hairs and dander. His eyes would get all puffy, his skin would break out, and he'd be sneezing and coughing for days on end. So, that meant no pet cats for me. Granted, this meant I could have short haired dogs and that was more than enough for me, but I always felt like I was missing out on the other pet species.

I have a few friends who have cats, and every time I hang out at their house I always bond with the cats. I connect with them so much that one of my best friend's cat actually recognizes me when I come over and jumps up on my lap and takes a nap there, which is something my best friend says she never does with new people.

It surprised my friends how good I was with cats seeing as though I owned three dogs, because to them I was strictly a 'dog person.' Which, to be fair, is true. I am a dog person. I love dogs for vastly different reasons than I love cats, and that's perfectly OK.

But I'm not just a dog person. I don't think that cats are the spawn of the devil and cat owners are secretly demons in disguise, ready to gouge my eyes out and feed them to their she-devil four-legged entities.

I love my dogs, I do, but they're special in different ways than my friends' cats are. I think in a way, not having cats has made me more of a cat person. Seeing my friends' cats when I can is always a special experience for me, and I treasure the time I spend with each of them and the bonds I create with them. There have been some pretty tough days where I didn't have the chance to go home to my dogs, but instead I got to cuddle Belle or Gus, and knowing they sensed my stress and nuzzled a little closer to me made my heart burst.

Cats are not like dogs, they're selective in who they give their affection to and when they give it. I feel lucky and so loved when they see me and their first reaction is to rub their heads against my legs, give a soft purr and fall asleep in my lap.

I'm a cat person, but I don't own cats, and that's just how I like it.