Tattooed Cats All The Rage In Russia!
It seems that in Russia, tattoos are going to the cats!
Oksana Popova decided to celebrate the ‘interesting times’ that currently surround Russia by having a picture of Tutankhamun tattoed onto her Sphynx cat, Mickey.
Mickey, a rare Canadian Hairless breed, also known as a Sphynx, had to undergo three hours of anesthesia, whilst tattoo artist, Anatoly Keksel, owner of TattoonHamon Tattoo Parlor in Russia, carefully tattooed the Tutankhamun onto Mickey’s chest under the watchful gaze of Mickey’s owner, Oksana.
Oksana thought that the tattoo was quite fitting and rather appropriate for her Sphynx cat. After the procedure was complete, a delighted Oksana was reported as saying: “I wanted something new and different for the times we live in.”
However, Irina Novozhilova, an animal rights activist in Moscow, was extremely disgusted and accused the tattooing as barbaric and cruel to Mickey.
Irina was quoted as saying: “The ethical thinking about animals in Russia lacks behind that of the West. People in Russia mostly buy animals for selfish reasons and anything that happens to them afterwards is a consequence of that.”
Following suit, a London RSPCA spokesman stated: “We are totally against using animals for purely cosmetic reasons just on the owner’s whim. Clearly the animal has no say in the matter. We do not believe in using pets as fashion accessories. It shows no respect for the animal whatsoever. So far we have only heard about this practice happening overseas – and we hope it doesn’t spread.”
Although this does seem to be the underlying fear: that tattooing cats could catch on amongst the more wealthy pet owners in the West, statistics show that incidences like this are quite few and far between.
Those pet owners who approve of the idea argue that tattooing their pet with a picture is not unlike tattooing them for identification purposes. Such identification tattoos are usually placed either on the inner leg of the cat, which of course requires shaving the cats hair, or inside of its outer ear and must be done by a veterinarian or a trained specialist.
The downside of this type of tattoo is that although the tattoo is linked to a registry with the owner’s information, a person who finds a lost cat with a tattoo will need to know exactly which number to call and there are quite a few of these types of pet tattoo registries. This can make finding the rightful owner a bit hard to do.
However, such a fad should not be taken lightly and should be discussed with your veterinarian first. There are many risks to be considered such as, the anesthesia, ear tattoos being clipped off my unscrupulous pet thieves, and keeping the tattooed area clean shaven at all times.
Other problems are the tattoo wearing off over time and becoming illegible, thick fur and skin discoloration may cause the tattoo to be illegible as well, and if done on a kitten or puppy, that tattoo will grow as the pet’s skin grows, which would also leave it illegible to read over time.
It is best to make sure that your cat has proper identification such as a collar and microchip and to be quite diligent about keeping your contact information current.
Photo Credit: BalkanPix
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and what a dopey tattoo! oh, i get it, “SPHINX” cat so “SPHINX” tattoo! get it? get it??? boy, bad enough to regret the tattoos you’ve actually chosen to put on your body, how bout regretting the ones someone else chose for you? now THAT smacks of evil, no?
The owner of this cat shouldn’t be allowed to have animals…or children. I’m horrified…
Yech. Such an glaringly obvious choice for the tattoo. Why not something more vague and classy? Like hieroglyphs that actually mean something. I would bet money the owner has a butterfly tattoo above their asscrack.
The tattoo looks dumb. The cat would have looked better without it. Isn’t a hairless cat weird enough, without making it a tattooed hairless cat?
The owner is a moron.
i really think this is animal cruelty, how can you even think about tattooing an animal??? if you want tattoos then put them on yourself! this is horrible! this person should really not be allowed to have animals.
Agreed the choice of tattoo is retarded. But is it really so bad? I get the feeling that you all are caught up on this animal like it looks in the mirror and judges its own appearance.
Additionally, there’s no way a cat would sit still while it was tattooed. I assure you the cat was under wen the tatt was put on, so it didn’t feel a thing.
In summation, the only creatures who are judging this animal’s appearance are you humans, who in large part find this type of cat repulsive anyway. Stop lying to yourselves. It’s a damn cat who had slightly irritated skin for a couple of days, not a infant who’s face was branded. Shut up or nut up.
That tattoo is hideous. Poor cat.
I’m not sure I even agree with animals being tattooed. It seems quite selfish and purely for human’s pleasure which I dislike. However the choice of tattoo is awful in this case, so tacky xD
Oke Zackass how about we put a tattoo on your ass while your down , you didn’t feel a thing! Your butt is somewhat irritated but it’s not as bad as an infant who gets burned
I think this is sick and It's wrong. Not to mention how unecessary it is.
Anonymous said…
It plain cruelty to expose a cat to three hours unnecessary surgery and possible future complications caused by allergies to dyes and etc. The tattoo belongs on the cats owner ass and "Jackass" tatto on her forehead. Russia should penalize individuals tattoing the animals and take away their professional license.
Pater Nostril – That is a tattoo of a Egyptian mummy mask, also known as the mask of King Tut. Not a Sphinx.
I do think this a rather cruel thing to do to a cat or any other animal for that matter but I have seen alot worse.
the only people who seem to dislike this is people who i probably dont have tattoos at all. as a person with nine i dont see anything wrong with painlessly improving a cats appearance esspecially a cat lucky enough to be able to show its skin so therefore show its tattoos. the cat was out the whole time so that isnt cruel and the healing process is nothing a cat couldnt handle in its day to day life so really if anything this is an awesome idea and to whoever did it id like to see somemore coverage of this cat soon.
oh and to zack
good call these people are being idiots
i'm horrified, this person should be prosecuted for animal abuse!
this is disgusting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this fool does not deserve a cat
how dare he put an animal through pain for his own selfish arrogance
this should be removed from the site.
i am going to complain about this.
watch this space………
publish this animal abusers email details so that we can all speak our mind to her. I hope that she does not breed sphynx cats? also publish the tatoo- suposed artist's details, they are disgusting!!!!!!!!!! I can not believe as a sphynx owner that this cat was subjected to this especially as they have known heart trouble.
HOW TERRIBLE!!! what kind of an idiot does this?! how dare you tattoo an innocent animal! who gives someone the right to inflict unecessary pain on thier pet, or any animal for that case?! But, we're humans, we think we are gods.
Zack and massacretheweak are missing the point entirely. This isn't about outrage caused by the aesthetic appearance of the cat, it is about carrying out unnecessary surgical procedures that cause the cat to be at risk – general anaesthesia is always a risk and should be avoided unless required as part of diagnostic protocols or theraputic treament for illness, injury or disease.
Giving cats, piercings, tattoos and other mutilations such as declawing do not benefit the cat in any way at all. They are ego driven, venity mutilations carried out by owners who view the animal as a commodity that has no right or ability to refuse such physical intrusion. The type of people who view animals in this way, do not have a healthy attitude to animal stewardship and should keep away from all animals.
Animals are not fashion accessories.
Bugger, he underwent anesthesia for three hours… As any old salt knows, tattoos hurt not only during the procedure but at least a week afterwards. It must have been specially painful for the cat, given that a sphynx's skin is very much thin and delicate.
And I'd blame the tattoo artist. The cat owner is obviously an idiot – why else would she name a cat Mickey – so the responsibility falls on the tattoo parlour to say 'sod off old hag, am not doing this to them kittens'. Like tattooing the underage or the intoxicated, just say NO.
Still anyway, add a Canadian cat, a Russian tattoo parlour and an Egyptian motif and there you have it; imbeciles going global.
A Hairless cat surviving through Russian winters is cruel enough…
Thats a really interesting thing. I am kinda going to look both ways in this. I wouldn't exactly animal cruelty, the cat wasn't conscious for the tattooing and even though most tattooing leads to sensitive skin where it was placed for a while, but there is a possibility the owner gave it pain reducers from a vet? It doesn't say it does but it doesn't say they didn't so that is an open possibility. all in all I don't think the cat is suffering. It doesn't look miserable in the picture. Besides, the cat is more than likely to be well cared for judging that the owner is paying money for the tattoo artist to do it, an abuser wouldn't do that. But it is not necessary. This is to get attention, or the possibility the owner is an artistic person. There is really little purpose for doing this other than perhaps a representation of wealth, style, etc. But who knows? We have no clue why the owner did this, it could have been a good reason. But anyway, I don't think this goes under the exact term of abuse, but its really not a necessary procedure.
i dont know which side to be on. the cat was under medication at the time, but it is cruel to put such an ugly tatto on a cat with skin as delicate flower. if someone wants to test out a tatto, put it on your own body! if he wanted to make his cat look fancy, then get it some nice clothes or a pearl necklace. the animal wont be judging himself saying he thinks the tatto is ugly or it should be on a different part of his body, but he also shouldnt have to go through the pain after he gets the tatto.
i shure hope he takes me advice and dosent tatto any more inocent animals!