It bears pointing out that part of the Cats "backlash" is the fact that it's fuckin' Cats being put in front of the mass consciousness again, only this time the internet and social media specifically is waaaay more a thing than it was in 19-fuckin-80.
and while all the other stuff in the discussion feeds into it too... just imagine if this was the first time. And besides, it's fun to joke and clown about something harmless, together. We aren't all watching Johnny Carson together, most of us aren't chatting around watercoolers, since when the fuck do we even have watercoolers or breaks at the same time any more? Social media chatter, dunking, etc., for better and worse is how that works now.
Edit: and at least in the corners of the Internet i have, it was fun and nice to gasp and make fun and proclaim love for this nonsense. A distraction from all the deadly serious shit, a ceasefire for some folks even. Making fun of Cats at least unites my country more than anything else, these days.