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There’s only one kind of cat this veterinarian recommends.
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
CNET freelancer Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.
There’s just one kind of cat that veterinarian Ben Simpson-Vernon would bring into his own family — and if you have a cat, it might be the same kind you have. Simpson-Vernon, known as Ben the Vet on TikTok, has made popular videos about the five breeds of dog he would and wouldn’t get, and one about the four cat breeds he’d avoid. So his newest video, about the type of cat he would get, was inevitable — and should prove satisfying to many who have cats.
Tango here agrees that her mixed-breed self, and her buddies, are the best.
“There’s just one,” Simpson-Vernon says. “I would just get a domestic shorthair, otherwise known as a moggy — just your regular, standard, garden variety cat. They’re the cat’s equivalent of a mutt, or a mongrel, so on average they’re going to be less inbred than your average pedigreed cat. And they’re just as lovely.”
(“Moggy,” or “moggie,” is a term used in Britain for a regular, non-pedigreed cat, and really, we Americans need to borrow that word.)
Simpson-Vernon also spoke about the importance of getting cats neutered (or, presumably, spayed) so they don’t have kittens and contribute to the problem of so many cats needing homes. He also showed a photo of himself with some rescue cats he recently checked over for a charity, noting that the cute cats in the photo have all found homes.
Earlier, Simpson-Vernon said he wouldn’t get a purebred cat from any of four breeds noted for having health issues. He said similar things about five dog breeds — sorry, pug lovers. And when it came to recommending dog breeds, the mutt, or mixed-breed dog, topped his list.