What Does the Herding Cats Idiom Mean?

“Herding cats” means trying to organize, control, or coordinate people or things that are highly independent, unpredictable, or unwilling to cooperate. It usually describes an extremely difficult management task rather than a literally impossible one.

The expression commonly appears in the comparison “like herding cats.” For example, a manager might say, “Getting everyone to submit the report on time was like herding cats.” The manager is not accusing the employees of scratching the furniture. The point is that each person required separate reminders, instructions, or persuasion.

Cambridge Dictionary defines the comparison as something used to describe an activity that is extremely difficult to accomplish. Related dictionary and usage references similarly connect it with managing people who resist moving together toward one objective.

A Simple Definition

In everyday American English, the idiom can be summarized as:

Attempting to coordinate a group whose members keep acting independently.

The phrase may express frustration, but it is often playful. It allows someone to describe organizational chaos without delivering a thirty-minute presentation titled “Why Nobody Answered My Email.”

Why Cats Make the Metaphor Work

Traditional livestock herding depends on animals moving as a group and responding predictably to people, dogs, barriers, or environmental pressure. Herding dogs were specifically developed to gather livestock and influence its movement. Cats, however, are not livestock and generally do not respond to group-direction techniques in the same orderly way.

A cat may follow a person because food is available, a familiar routine has begun, or the cat personally approves of the destination. That last condition is doing quite a bit of work. Attempting to push several cats toward one location would likely produce several different reactions.

This contrast gives the idiom its humor. Herding cattle sounds like a demanding but recognizable occupation. Herding cats sounds like an occupation invented as punishment for losing a bet.

The metaphor also works because it reflects a familiar human problem. Independent people may be talented, intelligent, and motivated while still disagreeing about methods. The difficulty does not always come from laziness or incompetence. Sometimes everyone is moving energeticallyjust not in the same direction.

How to Use “Herding Cats” in a Sentence

The idiom is informal and works best in conversation, commentary, workplace discussions, humorous writing, and relaxed business communication. It can describe people, departments, schedules, organizations, responsibilities, or competing priorities.

Workplace Examples

• “Coordinating five departments for the product launch was like herding cats.”
• “Managing freelancers in four time zones sometimes feels like herding cats.”
• “Without a clear deadline, the project became an exercise in herding cats.”
• “Getting the executives to agree on one logo was harder than herding cats.”

Family and Social Examples

• “Getting all the children dressed for the wedding was like herding cats.”
• “Organizing our family photo took an hour. It was pure cat herding.”
• “Planning a vacation with twelve relatives feels like herding cats.”

Political and Community Examples

• “Building a coalition among groups with competing goals can be like herding cats.”
• “The neighborhood committee meeting turned into two hours of cat herding.”
• “Getting every volunteer to follow the same schedule proved harder than expected.”

The expression can also be used as a verb phrase:

• “I spent the entire morning herding cats instead of doing my own work.”
• “She is excellent at herding cats and keeping complicated projects moving.”

Common Forms of the Expression

The most familiar version is “like herding cats,” but English speakers frequently adjust it to fit the sentence.

“It’s Like Herding Cats”

This is the standard comparison:

“Trying to schedule a meeting that works for everyone is like herding cats.”

“Herding Cats”

The shorter form names the difficult activity directly:

“Most of my job involves budgeting, planning, and herding cats.”

“Cat Herder”

A person who manages independent or difficult-to-coordinate participants may jokingly be called a cat herder:

“As the conference coordinator, I am officially the chief cat herder.”

“An Exercise in Herding Cats”

This version emphasizes a long or frustrating process:

“Collecting feedback from thirty stakeholders became an exercise in herding cats.”

What Is the Origin of the Herding Cats Idiom?

The exact origin of the phrase remains uncertain. Unlike an expression taken directly from a famous speech, book, or movie, herding cats seems to have developed through informal workplace and organizational humor.

It is often associated with the technology industry, particularly the challenge of managing experienced programmers. A frequently repeated version states that managing senior programmers is like herding cats and attributes the comment to technology writer or programmer Dave Platt. However, clear evidence proving that any one person invented the idiom is difficult to find.

One widely cited early printed appearance comes from a June 9, 1985, issue of The Washington Post Magazine. A passage described supervising six first-rate programmers as a managerial challenge comparable to herding cats. Accounts of the phrase’s history also mention a 1981 Mensa gathering where organizers reportedly wore shirts comparing the leadership of Mensa members to cat herding. The shirt story is interesting, but the surviving evidence is less definitive than the dated newspaper reference.

Why the Technology Connection Makes Sense

Software teams helped the expression spread because programmers are often expected to solve problems independently. Experienced developers may have strong preferences about tools, architecture, coding methods, deadlines, and whether a meeting could have been an email. Coordinating such specialists requires shared goals rather than constant command-and-control supervision.

The expression soon escaped the computer department. Academics, lawyers, volunteers, designers, politicians, children, committee members, and family reunion attendees have all been compared to cats. Some probably deserved it. Others were merely standing near the calendar when the organizer lost patience.

How a Super Bowl Commercial Popularized the Phrase

The idiom was already established by the late twentieth century, but a memorable advertisement gave it a spectacular visual identity.

In 2000, Electronic Data Systems, commonly known as EDS, aired its “Cat Herders” commercial during Super Bowl XXXIV. Created by the advertising agency Fallon, the commercial showed weathered cowboys driving cats across the American West as though they were cattle. The cats crossed rivers, traveled over open land, and created exactly the amount of cooperation one would expect from catswhich is to say, not much.

The advertisement used the absurd scene to represent EDS solving difficult business and technology problems. Production reports indicate that real cats and cowboys were filmed, with visual effects expanding the relatively small feline cast into an enormous herd. The commercial became highly regarded within the advertising industry, received major award recognition, and helped cement the idiom in popular culture.

Its success demonstrates why figurative language is powerful. Saying “complex coordination across independent systems” is accurate but sleepy. Showing cowboys chasing hundreds of cats is unforgettable.

Is “Herding Cats” Always Negative?

Not necessarily. The idiom normally communicates difficulty, but its tone depends on context.

A team leader might use it affectionately to describe energetic specialists who need freedom to do their best work. A parent may use it to joke about getting children into a car. An event organizer may say it after successfully directing dozens of volunteers. In these situations, the phrase recognizes complexity without seriously insulting anyone.

However, the expression can sound dismissive when used carelessly. Calling employees “cats” may imply that they are irrational, disobedient, or responsible for every delay. Sometimes the supposed cats are responding to unclear instructions, changing deadlines, conflicting goals, or a leader who scheduled seven meetings to discuss reducing meetings.

Before using the phrase, consider the audience. It is generally safe among friends or colleagues who understand the joke. In a formal evaluation, complaint, or sensitive negotiation, a more neutral description may be wiser.

Similar Idioms and Expressions

“Ride Herd On”

To ride herd on someone means to supervise or keep close control over that person or group. Unlike herding cats, it does not automatically suggest that coordination is nearly impossible.

“Like Nailing Jelly to a Wall”

This expression describes something frustratingly difficult to control, define, or complete. It is especially useful when the target keeps changing shape.

“Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen”

This saying describes a situation in which too many people are interfering with one task. Herding cats emphasizes independent movement; too many cooks emphasizes conflicting involvement.

“Getting Everyone on the Same Page”

This is a more professional and less humorous way to describe establishing shared understanding or agreement.

“Organized Chaos”

This phrase describes a situation that appears disorderly but still produces results. Cat herding may lead to organized chaos once the organizer accepts that a perfectly straight line is not happening.

What the Idiom Teaches About Managing People

Although the expression is humorous, it contains a practical lesson. People are not cattle, and effective coordination rarely comes from pushing everyone harder in one direction.

When a project feels like herding cats, the organizer should first ask why. Are responsibilities unclear? Are participants receiving different instructions? Does everyone understand the purpose? Are deadlines realistic? Do team members have reasons to resist the plan?

Independent contributors often respond better to clear outcomes than excessive supervision. A leader can define the destination, assign decision-making authority, remove obstacles, and allow skilled people to choose an effective path.

In other words, successful cat herding may have less to do with building a stronger fence and more to do with opening a can of tuna in the correct location.

Real-Life Experiences With the Herding Cats Idiom

The phrase becomes especially memorable after living through a situation that perfectly matches it. Consider the apparently simple task of organizing a family dinner. One person cannot eat before seven, another refuses to drive after dark, two relatives are arguing about the restaurant, and someone responds to every question with a thumbs-up emoji that clarifies absolutely nothing.

The organizer creates a group chat. Within minutes, the conversation divides into three separate debates: where to eat, whether children should attend, and whether a restaurant that closed six years ago is still “worth considering.” By the time a reservation is made, half the group believes dinner is Friday and the other half believes it is Saturday. That is herding cats in its natural habitat.

Work projects create similar experiences. Imagine coordinating a website launch involving writers, designers, developers, marketers, lawyers, and senior executives. The designer needs final copy before completing the layout. The writer needs the approved product details. The product team is waiting for legal review, and legal cannot review anything until someone stops naming files “final_version_REAL_final_7.”

No single person is necessarily causing trouble. Each participant has a legitimate responsibility, but the dependencies form a complicated web. The project manager spends the day checking statuses, resolving contradictions, and reminding everyone that launch day is an actual date rather than a philosophical possibility.

Teaching and parenting offer even more literal-looking examples. Ask a group of young children to stand together for a photograph. One child suddenly needs water. Another notices an airplane. Someone begins crying because a sibling is standing in the “wrong” invisible spot. Just as the group finally faces the camera, one child walks away to investigate a leaf.

Volunteer projects can be equally challenging because participants may have different schedules, motivations, and levels of commitment. A community organizer may recruit twenty enthusiastic helpers, only to discover that five can work mornings, six can work evenings, three have brought equipment nobody requested, and one has redesigned the entire project without telling anyone.

These experiences reveal why the idiom feels accurate. The problem is not always unwillingness. Often, the participants are active and well-intentioned. They simply respond to different incentives and information. The organizer’s role is to create enough structure for progress without attempting to control every movement.

The best response is usually a combination of clarity, flexibility, and humor. Clarify the goal, simplify the communication channel, assign ownership, and confirm deadlines in writing. Then accept that at least one metaphorical cat will still climb a curtain.

When the work is finally complete, saying “That was like herding cats” does more than describe the difficulty. It also recognizes the achievement. Somehow, despite conflicting calendars, missing attachments, wandering children, and twelve opinions about lunch, the group reached the destination. Perhaps not in formation, and certainly not quietly, but everyone arrived.

Conclusion

The herding cats idiom describes the challenge of coordinating independent, unpredictable, or difficult-to-manage people and activities. Its precise origin is uncertain, although documented uses appeared by the 1980s, particularly in discussions about managing programmers. The celebrated EDS “Cat Herders” commercial later transformed the metaphor into a memorable piece of popular culture.

Use the phrase when a task requires repeated coordination and everyone seems determined to follow a separate path. It is humorous, expressive, and instantly understandable. Just remember that when a project feels like herding cats, the cats may not be the entire problem. Sometimes they need clearer directions. Sometimes they need better motivation. And sometimes they have already knocked the plan off the table.

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