Painted Cats??

If you think dog lovers are a little nuts, cat lovers can be worse. I give you Why Paint Cats: The Ethics of Feline Aesthetics by Burton Silver and Heather Busch. This tiny little book is a collection of pictures of painted cats. Yes. Painted cats. I once received one of those email forwards that included a picture of a cat with a picture of a man painted around his butt, which I figured had been photoshopped. Nope. People actually pay money to have this done to their cats. Big money. Like, thousands. I did learn that people have been painting cats in India, Japan and Botswana for centuries. But painting cats is a relatively new practice in the west. Some of the designs are quite cool (the "tattooed" cat) and beautiful, but some are just absurd. And it's not even permanent! Imagine spending $5000 for something that will only last a few months! As for the ethics of painting cats, the book doesn't do a great job of answering that question. I would like to see a book called How to Paint Cats, because really, how does one paint a cat? That kind of elaborate work seems like it would take hours, and I know my cat would never sit still that long. At least not without sedation. The book doesn't really go into detail as to the methods. One artist commented that he likes to do his painting when the cat is either asleep or hypnotized. Cats can be hypnotized? How can I learn to do that? And exactly what is used for the paints? Apparently the paints are vegetable-based and safe for the animals, but where does one buy these? I also saw the phrase "prepainting petting" a few times, which I assume means that the painter has to get the cat used to the brush first by petting it with a dry brush before the painting even starts. I know exactly what my cat would do if I tried to pet her with a paint brush. Attack it. Bite me. Run away and hide.

For your enjoyment: painted cats...