BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Cat Person: The short story people are talking about

  • Published
    11 December 2017
Share page
About sharing
couple in awkward exchangeImage source, NicolasMcComber/Getty
Rozina Sini
BBC UGC and Social News

A fictional short story published in a magazine is being shared widely online as social media users discuss how much it relates to modern day dating.

Published in The New Yorker Cat Person by Kristen Roupenian, external has provoked an online debate about the main character Margot and her date with a man called Robert who has cats.

The story which includes a graphic description of an awkward sexual encounter has been shared on Twitter more than a thousand times and liked almost 2,500 times since it was posted online on Saturday.

Ms Roupenian has described how inspiration for the story, external came from communications she had with someone online.

In an editorial for the magazine, she said it was: "an excruciatingly bad date story and, I think, a kind of commentary on how people get to know each other, or don't through electronic communication."

In an age of dating apps, swiping left or right, and getting to know potential partners through social media, it seems Cat Person has resonated with a number of people, mostly women, many of whom explained the story's appeal on Twitter.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by Farrah Alexander

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by Farrah Alexander

Another Twitter user posted:, external "If you think the New Yorker piece Cat Person was about a dude being a bad kisser, honey, please read again bc you did not get it."

A separate tweet read:, external "I want an investigation on how she wiretapped my inner monologue." While another user tweeted:, external "Basically anyone who's ever used a dating app could write Cat Person, just maybe not as well."

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 2 by Kim Renfro

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 2 by Kim Renfro

Ms Roupenian herself has also tweeted that she is both bemused and delighted by how much attention her story is receiving: "I don't really know how to do justice to the conversation that is happening around my story but I am grateful for it," she posted, external on Twitter.

You may also like:

  • Are these the worst dates you've ever heard?

  • Woman trapped in window trying to retrieve poo after Tinder date

  • First date interrupted by dog cliff fall

So what is it about the story of a 20-year-old student's date with an older man that has captured the attention of so many?

The story's popularity suggests the main character's emotions reflect the experiences of many women in the dating game such as dating etiquette, insecurities and shame.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 3 by Jenny Talia

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 3 by Jenny Talia

Others shared their own dating horror stories as one user posted:, external "When I was 17, I went on a date with a 30-year-old. Nothing happened, but I can still relate to a disturbing amount of Margot's feelings here. It was strange and harrowing and a poor choice on my part. But it was an even worse choice on his."

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 4 by Twas the Nat Before Christmas

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 4 by Twas the Nat Before Christmas

Others however were not so taken by the story of Margot and Robert's romance., external A number of Twitter users posted that Robert's character was represented badly.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 5 by Kara Schlegl

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 5 by Kara Schlegl

Another Twitter user commented:, external "'He felt attractive for once, loved, accepted. She looked past his flaws and made him feel human. It was an extremely biased piece that has prompted a response whereby all men are like this."

More on this story

  • Demi Lovato on dating and disappointment

    • Published
      2 October 2017
    Demi Lovato
  • The worst dates you've ever been on

    • Published
      6 September 2017
    Date night
  • Woman on date threw poo out window

    • Published
      5 September 2017
    Liam Smith's date trapped upside down inside a window
  • Russian dating app finds election 'dates'

    • Published
      21 August 2017
    Screen shoot from the "Voting together" app
  • Beijing's 'snobbish' dating scene mocked

    • Published
      12 July 2017
    Singles attend a singles party at the Pudong Century Park on May 20, 2006 in Shanghai, China.
  • Chinese lesbian dating app shuts down

    • Published
      30 May 2017
    Giant rainbow flag being carried along street in Hong Kong

Top stories

  • Play: Cooler Than Me?

    • Attribution
      Weather
    • Published
      19 hours ago
  • BBC News app

    • Published
      30 April

More to explore

  • Starmer resets after Rayner row, but Labour turmoil is a gift for Reform

    A treated image showing Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner, with a separate image of Laura on the right
  • I ordered drug-laced vapes on Snapchat. It was as easy as picking up pizza

    Two men in the front seat of a car. The man in the passenger seat is holding four small black bottles in his hands. A fistful of £20 notes held by someone at the passenger side window can just be seen to the right of the image. The man holding the bottles is in a black gilet and grey long-sleeved top and has curly dark hair and a moustache and beard. The driver has dark hair. A house can be seen in the background and an orange campervan.
  • Why the world is watching RFK's fight with US health agency

    Robert F Kennedy Jr stands behind a chair, pushed up to a wide, wooden table. He is wearing a smart, tailored, dark suit. He is flanked by other similarly dressed men. On the table is a sign with his name on it, some plastic bottles and a white disposable drinks cup.
  • Humble & sweet, but a lion - the story of the first female £1m player

    • Attribution
      Sport
    Olivia Smith
  • Russia targets WhatsApp and pushes new 'super-app' as internet blackouts grow

    Photograph showing a woman looking at her phone as she walks across a bridge in central Moscow - with the Russian Foreign Ministry building in the background
  • He was a respected surgeon so I believed him, but he had a secret about his amputations

    Neil Hopper is sitting in a chair wearing blue scrubs and glasses with his prosthetic limbs on show. The prosthetic limbs have a Welsh dragon pattern and are white, red and green. He is smiling at the camera.
  • The sunscreen scandal shocking Australia - the world's skin cancer hotspot

    Two women wipe sunscreen on the backs of two men on a beach. The men are wearing swimming shorts while the women are in shorts ad in one case a bikini top and the other a sleeveless white top
  • I filmed what it takes to make a family meal in Gaza

    A close up picture of Mosab appearing to show him carrying a bag
  • Who's in Keir Starmer's new cabinet?

    Graphic showing David Lammy, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Jamie Borthwick axed from EastEnders after 19 years

  2. 2

    'Keep your cool' during emergency alert test, government says

  3. 3

    More than 425 arrested at rally against Palestine Action ban in London

  4. 4

    Rights reform to 'head off Farage' and 'EastEnders Jamie axed'

  5. 5

    Carlo Acutis: From a baptism in London to the first millennial saint

  6. 6

    Charity visit on the cards as Harry returns to UK

  7. 7

    One of America's most wanted evaded the FBI for 21 years - only to be found in Wales

  8. 8

    Reform criticised over doctor's Covid jab claims at conference

  9. 9

    Home Office clearout as Starmer reshuffles top team

  10. 10

    Inflatable tanks and flat-pack guns - inside Ukraine's decoy war

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • From rough diamonds to a highly polished scam

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Panorama
  • An explosive, tough action drama returns

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Dark Hearts
  • A revealing look into the life of boxer Tommy Fury

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Tommy: The Good. The Bad. The Fury
  • Star-studded, iconic, Oscar-winning mafia epic

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    The Godfather
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.