Cats and Dogs

I don't understand why everybody has to decide between cats and dogs.  It's actually quite sad.  I own a cat. I grew up with both cats and dogs. There have been multiple times when people find out that I have a cat and said "eww, I hate cats"  I cannot see any reason for anyone to hate a cat. (Unless of course they once were mauled by a cougar. That individual has the right to all the excuses in the world to hate cats.)  I can understand not wanting a cat, or maybe disliking them.  But hate?  That's harsh.  Same goes for dogs.  You can't just condemn an entire species because of one or two bad experiences.  If every woman were to form their opinions about men off of one experience, the world as we know it would come to an end. I guess what I am trying to say, is that you can't condemn the species because of an individual, no matter how bad the experience was.