What comes to mind when you think about crazy cat ladies? Do you picture reclusive, stinky pet hoarders recklessly violating municipal codes and eventually becoming the stuff of neighborhood legend? While people like that do exist, there’s a new crazy cat lady (and gentleman!) in town. In recent years the term has been embraced as a cultural meme. Cat lovers have proudly adopted the term Crazy Cat Lady and use it to celebrate their love of felines and their otherwise eccentric natures. The Crazy Cat Lady Action Figure is wielded as a personal mascot. Instead of unapproachable oddballs, today’s self-proclaimed crazy cat lady is a proud self-aware feline fanatic.

There is an organization called the Crazy Cat Ladies Society that seeks to, “use humor to counter the stereotypes made about people who love cats. By claiming the phrase “crazy cat lady” on our own terms, we take away its power to offend, and have a lot of fun while doing so!”

Crazy cat lady characters have become a regular sight on various television shows. The Simpsons have lived near a crazy cat lady for years. She’s often spotted walking down the street with cats crawling all over her. When approached she mutters incomprehensible screams and hurls cats at people. Her name is Eleanor Abernathy and she’s even got her own Facebook page Futurama has a recurring character who carries a cat with here wherever she goes and refers to anything she doesn’t know the word for a “kajigger”. The cast of Parks And Recreation recently stayed at a bed and breakfast that was run by a harpsichord-playing Crazy Cat Lady.

There are even crazy cat ladies in video games. In the sensationally popular World of Warcraft, there’s a non-player character named Donni Anthania in Elwynn Forest, with the subtext <Crazy Cat Lady>. In typical crazy cat lady fashion, her house and the surrounding area is crawling with cats. She even sells cat pets to players. The Facebook game FarmVille has a series of ribbons (achievements) called Cat Lady which are awarded to players who brush their cats enough times.

Crazy cat ladies have even garnered the attention of some of our most incisive political comedians. Stephen Colbert, the host of The Colbert Report, devotes an entire chapter of his book, I Am America! (And So Can You!), to an essay supposedly written by a Crazy Cat Lady who feels at first that she may have wasted her life, but realizes how full it actually is:

If I had raised a family, who would have raised my cats, my wonderful, wonderful cats? What would have become of Tiger, and Cupcake, and Professor Snugglepuss? Who would put out milk for Princess Sheba, and Dartagnan the Mouseketeer? Who would knit personalized collars for Footloose, Fancy-Free, Mr. Whiskers and Mrs. Chievous-Whiskers (nee Miss Chievous), Ol’ Blacky, Princess Grace Kitty, Queen Neferkiti, Old King Cat, Arsenic, Old Lace, and Adjunct Professor Mimsy? Yes, I’ve had a full life.

So many people either personally know or identify themselves as cat fanatics that The Times Tribune recently held its own Crazy Cat Lady contest inviting people to submit stories about their favorite feline fanatics:

The back of the package for the Crazy Cat Lady Action Figure provides a quiz to help determine if you or someone you know might be a crazy cat lady. One customer, Lisa Acho Remorenko had this to say about it:

“After taking the quiz, I realized that I may be a little extreme when it comes to my cats. But I’m proud of that fact. The world needs more cat people.”

So, while some people may feel like the term is an insult, most of your customers will wear it as a teasing badge of honor. We find people see the Crazy Cat Lady Action Figure or Crazy Cat Lady Soap and know exactly who they should buy it for as a gift.

Stand Proud, Crazy Cat Ladies, Stand Proud. We’re here for you.