Hmmmmmmm - I'd want to run that by some feral cats first! Of course, I'm not a psychologist, but I believe most people project onto cats that which they perceive. Sounds more to me like that might be his perception of cats.
I think that whenever people respond to that one with "cat", it's because they would want to have those qualities that they find particularly fascinating about cats they've known. These can be varied, depending on the person and the cats they have interacted with. Some people have cuddly, spoiled housecats (ahem, Grasshopper!), then some have independant barn cats, marvelous mousers!
Cats have always fascinated pepole throughout history (watch the Discovery Channel's cat features.) I think a lot of it is their independence, their purr, their aloofness, their grace, their hunting ability in the midst of all their cuddliness, and the unique way they often relate to human beings, when they chose to. Then, too, a lot of it is cultural; we tend to view them as somewhat like us. And in fact, their physiology is studied by many disciplines, as they are structurally more like humans than any other animal. Maybe we came from cats? Sorry, no offense to Darwinians or Creationists!