Review: The Feline-Friendly Doc ‘Cat Daddies’ Shows How Guys Can Love Cats Too, with Plenty of Heart Along the Way

If you still get wary when a black cat crosses your path after watching Mye Hoang’s documentary “Cat Daddies,” there’s something wrong with you. I jest. But Hoang’s foray into the world of cats—and cat dads—is an exquisite production that shows just how much joy cats can bring to the lives of all types of people (yes, even men), and redefines stereotypes of cats and cat owners along the way. “Cat Daddies” breaks down these stereotypes in the kindest and most humorous way. Its focus on men of different walks of life is filled with heartwarming stories and laugh-out-loud comedy. For 90 some minutes, you forget about life’s troubles, and see what joy bonding with pets can bring. Cat lovers will adore this documentary; but anyone looking for a bright spot amidst life’s often-cynicism will fall in love with “Cat Daddies.” 

What is different about “Cat Daddies” is the intimacy the film brings, almost unintentionally. Most docs educate about a subject with focus and introspection. But few I have seen invite you into the project with the filmmaker as Hoang has done here. The cats are just as much of a focus of the film as the men who own them. In fact, Cameraman Robert E. Bennett will often let the camera watch and do the talking as owners interact with their cats. The film was shot on location in the many U.S. cities (stretching from New York to California), and “Cat Daddies” is additionally buffered by camera footage of cats contributed by some of the subjects in the documentary themselves. 

Battling the Stigma: Guys Can Love Cats Too

The subjects of the documentary make this film. Many are funny and hysterical to watch, while others are simply grateful for the company their cat(s) bring them. The film opens with Nathan Kehn, an actor/social media influencer who, at the point of this production, has four cats. “Once you hit three cats you’re a crazy cat lady,” he jokes. He examines the stereotypes about guys loving cats, in-between humorous bits about making Instagram videos with his pets, which has boosted him to over 300,000 followers. You may balk at this; but Kehn shares morosely in one clip how he lost four commercial gigs because he didn’t have the “accepted” 10,000 followers. It’s a cutthroat business; and his cats have helped him. 

“Cat Daddies” then brings us along in this way. It shows us another man, a software engineer from the Bay Area in California, who takes his cat, Zulu, on hikes with him in a backpack. He jokes about how his dog-owning friends used to make fun of him. He has taken to “owning” that he loves cats; it was something he used to shy away from saying. We also meet Tora the Trucker cat and his owner David Durst (a trucker). The two have visited 45 of the 50 states in the U.S. with his girlfriend. Trucking is hard, David comments, adding that having Tora with him makes it feel like home. Tora likes to hike with David when he’s home, especially liking to go “off trail.” 

David Giovanni with his cat ‘Lucky’ on the streets of NYC. (Photo courtesy of Mye Hoang).

If the opening few cat owners make us question stereotypes and how men owning cats can be cool too, its next segment makes us understand how pets can also save your life. We meet David Giovanni, an immigrant from Georgia who has been in the U.S. for 19 years. Falling on hard times, he is homeless (and later we learn, also lives with Cerebral Palsy). One day, living on the streets of NYC, he finds a cat that he and others thought was dead. But after David strikes out with getting help from the ASPCA (a later subject of the documentary will explain how animal welfare is extremely underfunded in New York City), David will nurse the cat, which he named Lucky, back to health and keep it with him at all times.

Cats Saving Lives; and Vice Versa

The documentary shows, rather than tells, how Lucky indeed saved David’s life. Interviews with police officer Chris Alese further shows how much animals like Lucky mean to the homeless population. “It’s amazing to see how [they; they homeless person] will neglect everything about themselves to care for the animal,” he says. (Chris also owns a cat, Pez), and remarks how his wife changed his mind about cats. 

“Cat Daddies” also explores how these small creatures can even provide alleviation from the stress of working a dangerous job. We meet Jordan Lide, a firefighter in Greenville, SC, who unintentionally saved a stray cat (which he named Flame), that now resides in the firehouse with his crew. Hoang, through interviews with Lide, shows how they all benefit from Flame’s presence. Flame changed their perception of cats—even to the point that when the fire station learned that another station was going to force its firemen to get rid of their ‘house cat,’ Lide and others flooded social media to entice the station’s chief to change his mind. “The Fire Chief got 15,000 emails that day,” he jokes. But the point is not lost that having a cat has made a very dangerous job easier for Lide and others, which in itself gives back to the community. 

Redefining Strength by Caring for Animals

There are others that the documentary explores, from all different walks of life. Some are blue collar, some are artists, some are cat rescuers themselves, and others teachers. Hoang, through allowing us to spend time with these people and with these animals, shows us how beneficial cats can be. Sometimes Hoang will even show clips—which may have been intended for B-roll—of participants talking to the cameraman, either in a joking manner or in order to show just how much cat clothing one man owned for his cat—and the whole thing just works.

The many coats of ‘Tora the Trucker Cat’ in a scene from “Cat Daddies.” (Photo courtesy of Mye Hoang).

It works because the director humanizes these people. Her documentary is not just a smarmy breakdown of male stereotypes, but one with purpose. Once, the girlfriend of a subject states it’s attractive to see a man take care of something other than himself. But in another segment, another subject talks about how masculinity is in the middle of a redefinition. Harmful stereotypes are slowly fading away, and caring for something is replacing old definitions of strength. 

A Heartwarming Documentary

There are more stories and more cats present in “Cat Daddies” (covering them all would take too many words) that are worth discovering for yourself. This is a smart and fun documentary; you can’t help, even from its opening frames, to smile throughout. Some parts are funny, as mentioned, while others, especially David Giovanni’s story, are warming and bittersweet. But what Hoang has done is to make a production that doesn’t betray its name: “Cat Daddies” explores the male experience with cat ownership, doesn’t editorialize, and lets the story tell itself. Whether you’re a cat lover yourself (I took notes for this movie with my currently sick black cat Frank curled in my lap) or are more of a dog person, “Cat Daddies” has something for everyone. It studies its characters well, warms your heart, and makes you think twice about people—and animals—from different backgrounds and experiences.

“Cat Daddies” opens in select theaters beginning in New York City at the Village East by Angelika on October 14th. It will follow up with an opening in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Glendale theater on October 21st. The film will then expand to further theaters later this fall. 

You can visit the film’s official website at www.catdaddiesmovie.com for more information. You can also watch the film’s official trailer below. 

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