Cat hatred is a strange but very real thing. It's different from dislike towards any other animal, especially in rural areas or with rednecks in general.
When someone admits to disliking dogs, it's usually little more than a distaste for their company.
When people talk about disliking spiders or snakes or the like, they usually admit that it's a stupid but unavoidable shock reaction.
When people talk about disliking cats, it's a sadistic drive. They take joy in seeing cats suffer. I've spoken with dozens of people who admitted to this, and not one could explain why.
I've heard many stories of cat torture while living in small town Indiana, and I've known people with cats who had to take drastic measures to prevent their neighbors from kidnapping and torturing them. As in people who would take any opportunity to kill a cat, even when they knew it to be a pet and knew the owner, unless threatened with dire consequences. I've had zero experience with the same attitude towards any other animal. Even people who kill spiders, snakes, mice, etc on sight don't take pleasure in their suffering. They just want them gone. But for some reason lots of people love to torture cats. It's fucking ridiculous and I don't understand it.
* SalmonGod goes to see if there has been any research on the phenomenon of cat hatred