I read an article this morning about Mickey, a hairless Sphynx cat in Russia who was anethetised for three hours to have an ornamental tattoo inked on his back and chest.
My initial reaction, as yours might be, was WTF! Seriously?
Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of bodyart. I have several tattoos and am about to begin sitting for a new backpiece. However, I have made a conscious choice about all of my tattoos, a lot of thought went into each of them and they each mean something important to me. There are many theories as to why some of us human beans decide to get tattooed, none of which I think can be applied to cats.
A cat is incapable of making this sort of decision. But then, my cats had no choice when it came to them being neutered. Is this really any different? Whilst there is a reason for neutering a domestic moggie, a part of that reason is so that living with the cat is easier for the human. Is it hypocritical as the caretaker of neutered cats for me to take umbrage at somebody tattoing their cat? I can justify my cats being neutered but I cannot justify this. Then there is the argument of whether or not we should interbreed cats to have characteristics that are not really conducive to the cats survival - in this case having no fur.
Is anethetising a cat for a procedure that is purely aesthetic morally right? Is it Ok to be somewhat hypocritical sometimes?
On the other hand, on a person that would be a beautiful tattoo......
I'd be interested to know what you think, dear readers.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
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4 comments:
That's a tricky one. I love cats. If I wasn't allergic I would have one. To me it would be a companion and I would love observing its behaviour and hopefully giving it a great life. Neutering it would probably improve its life (??) - if not it would at least stop the neighbourhood being overwhelmed with cats competing for its territory ;) I don't think I'm too concerned as to what the cat looks like - I'd probably love an ugly cat even more. So, as the cat wouldn't gain from having a tattoo or appreciate how lovely the tattoo was, then it'd have to be a definite no from me.
OMG!! No Way! To me that is outright abuse - tattooing a hairless cat to make it into a living breathing decoration/ status symbol/fashion accessory. Sickening.
OMG absolutely not okay because they are not consenting and it is so completely unnecessary! I have tattoos and whatever else I do to my own body, but that is entirely my choice. I stupidly agreed to have my cat go under so she could get groomed but when I went to pick her up, I was horrified with the side effects and will never ever do something so selfish and unnecessary to my cats again! I felt so bad. Sorry, I liken it to animal abuse.
Thanks for your opinions ladies. I find it just so disturbing and wrong. Two days later and it's still bothering me.
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