Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Woman sentenced to house arrest for piercing cats...

Um, I'm not saying that everything the ancient Egyptians did was a good idea, but I reckon if it's okay to pierce a newborn baby's ears, then why not a cat's?

I definitely remember seeing statuary from Egypt that included cats with gold earrings. I know that cats' surface skin heals faster than subdermal tissue, and they can be prone to infection, but gosh, I don't know if I agree that piercing cats should be a punishable offense. That said, I think it's sheer lunacy to pierce the ears of an infant. I can't believe a cat'll sit still for it, but if the cats are happy, then what's the harm?

Here's a walk down memory lane-- remember Bonsai Kittens? I remember the ghastly buzz of Very Upset students at my university at that time... *chuckle*

9 comments:

Kristophr said...

Pets are property.

As long as there is no deliberate torture involved, the State should butt out.

Would this a-hole judge also consider cropping a Dobermann's ears cruelty? Or maybe converting a calf into a steer?

Judge needs to be removed.

Laura said...

She was piercing more than just their ears (most notably the skin in the scruff area, which causes them to curl up into a ball and not move), and NONE of the photos I've seen of her cats have shown a happy feline. With the size of the barbells and captive ball rings she was putting in their ears, how COULD they be happy?

I don't find piercing an infant's ears to be acceptable, either...why should it be acceptable on an animal who can't tell its owners how horrid they are for doing it?

Laura said...

Here's an illustration: http://www.rightpundits.com/?p=2577

Joe Allen said...

Meanwhile, declawing - which involves cutting each of the animal's toes off at the first knuckle - is a perfectly accepted practice.

While I suppose there is the potential for feline jewelry to get hung up on something and cause minor injury, as far as I'm concerned; piercing a cat's ears is fairly harmless idiocy. We routinely tag the ears of livestock after all and - other than the usual gang of smelly hippies - nobody makes a fuss about that.

Declawing, however, is barbaric and cruel and no ethical vet should practice the procedure.

Old NFO said...

Um... ah.... er.... no comment...

phlegmfatale said...

Kristopher - I dunno about disbarring the judge until first, we've disposed of all the lawyers in the fashion recommended by Shakespeare

falfenix - that IS disgusting. I was sort of picturing just a small, light hoop in the ears. Poor kittehs.

Joe Allen - the process you describe sounds horrific, indeed.

Old NFO - I know!

Kristophr said...

Lawyers do what they can for their clients ... it's what they are paid for.

Any justice system can be made to work ( including the Mandarin version, where the judge is also the jury and the lawyer for both sides ) ...

provided you make sure you have competent judges.

Laura said...

oh, also, i agree with Joe. declawing is banned in most other countries. i'm not sure why it hasn't been banned here. it's not like it's hard to clip a cat's claws.

Laura said...

honestly, had it been a small hoop, i'd be less disturbed by it. using such heavy jewelry really alters a cat's hearing (and since they rely on it so heavily for everything they do...). i just don't understand why this individual thought it was a good idea.