In the Humble Opinion of LittleBill, Socialist, Atheist, and Humanist
A Different Take on Painted Cats

There are pictures of Painted Cats circulating on the internet right now. According to the article, it costs a great deal of money to have their hair painted, and aficianados have their pictures changed periodically. One cat is painted to evocatively recall the likes of Anna Nicole Smith. Evidently, the aim is to make them lovely, artistic, or just plain funny.

Not to me. These animals do not realize what has been done to them. They have become toys or objects of amusement. It will not surprise anyone that I do not approve of dressing them up either.

For God’s sake, can’t you appreciate them for what they are? Can’t you let them share themselves with you as cats, and you share yourself with them as humans? I have written before about the many dogs and cats I have had, all either strays, dumped, or lost, or put up for adoption.

I have always found that animals which are in trouble and unwanted make the best pets. One who comes to mind was Rip, a long-haired black cat, who came to my door one winter’s day and refused to leave. He, rather than I, was the Decider. I took him in and named him after his ears, which were all lumped up with scars. The vet told me that it was from scratching his ears as a young cat because he had ear mites. Although his name was Rip, I spoke to him mostly as “my handsome cat,” and he KNEW that he was a handsome cat.

Pets are not toys. Try to accord them the dignity which they deserve.


2 comments:

pekka said . . .

Your first paragraph, LittleBill, got my attention and foolishly, for a minute, I thought that you aproved it. I should have known better!

There is a huge problem with the way we treat our pets and the animals in general. Especially with cats that are left free to roam and multiply. We tend to consider pets just like as we do with TV sets, computers and ipods, just as things. However, something like animals as the entertainment, the way it was done in circuses, has almost dissapeared in the Western world. Like with everything else, the education is the key.

My wish is that soon even some Asian cultures would start looking to curb their enthusiasm for the ivory. Also, their medicines in so many instances are manufactured out of the body parts of the endangered species. To produce, supposingly, an errection for an old Chinese gentleman, Siberian Tiger has to lose it's life and it's penis. Surely, this is too high of a price to pay for something that propably will not even work!
March 4, 2007

Vigilante said . . .

Painted cats? What is the world coming to?
March 4, 2007

3 comments:

Vigilante said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

Vigilante said...

Yeah, incredibly I found photos of painted cats here and here and here. Some paint jobs cost $15,000 and last only three months! Unbelievable.

I wonder what is the natural predator of the coyote. My neighbor is wondering if his cats were recently 'disappeared' by the paws, claws and jaws of coyotes. Maybe he could have painted them into the likeness that woulda, coulda, shoulda repelled coyotes?

Vigilante said...

Painting a pig is one thing, but I bet no one would want to paint this cat!