Could it be that we are more threatened by kittens and puppies than we are by guns? Perhaps we are. My own community, like many others, has restrictions on pets that don't apply to firearms.
I live with a cat that runs my life. She's only seven pounds of fluff, but she packs a lot of scary fury in that fluff. So much so, that my friends refer to her as Kitler.
20/20 recently treated its viewers to a condescending pity-party for the women it calls 'crazy cat ladies.' The segment, with an accompanying article online, was so over-the-top that it was almost a parody of itself.