Woman accused of trying to sell 'gothic kittens'

[Are_grits_groceries]

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - Humane officers said a Pennsylvania woman marketed "gothic kittens" with ear, neck and tail piercings over the Internet. Officers with the SPCA of Luzerne County removed three kittens and a cat from a home outside Wilkes-Barre.

Officer Carol Morrison said the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals raided the home on Wednesday after getting a tip that the woman was selling the pierced kittens on eBay.

"It's unbelievable anybody would do this to kittens," Morrison said.

Charges are likely against the homeowner, whose name was not released.

Morrison said the woman has a pet grooming business in the basement of the home.


http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D955B0FG1&show_article=1

You can't make this s*** up. They better close her grooming business. Yeeeesh!

[phantom power]

1. I'm going to regret posting this...

but is it any worse than cropping the ears of a Shelty or Great Dane?

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. Precisely.

And docking the tails of Dobermans.

[ogneopasno]

5. Or piercing the ears of a pre-verbal toddler?

[Ilsa]

24. I've heard those screams in the mall. Can't fathom it at all. nt

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

41. Not just toddlers. Crawling babies.

[JNelson6563]

46. And infants!

I managed a store that did piercings, I hated when parents brought in little infants for that. It was due to their own vanity. Terrible.

Julie

[TomInTib]

6. No, cropping is worse.

The ears of specific breeds have evolved to better serve the dog and its purpose.

However, I think a fitting punishment for this idiot would be to have her ears cropped.

[phantom power]

9. Well, ear cropping is also done for hygienic reasons.

Cleaning out ear fungus from a Great Dane is an uphill battle.

[flvegan]

10. I'm on my second natural ear dane without ever having

more than the occasional issue. They don't crop cockers, and look at their problems.

[phantom power]

16. Maybe I did it wrong. Or wasn't determined enough.

[ogneopasno]

11. AIUI, it's done for convenience. There is a difference.

[Maine-ah]

47. my choco lab had to have her ears cleaned on a weekly basis

and in the summer it was almost daily. I've never seen a lab with cropped ears.

[Muttocracy]

12. Ear cropping is banned in most or all of Europe

I've never heard a good reason for ear cropping; it's mostly used on Dobermans, Pit Bull Terriers, etc. to make the dogs look more "fierce" or to protect their ears in dog fighting. I've never heard of ear cropping in a Sheltie - Shelties and collies naturally have prick ears or half/prick (tops flop over), don't they.

And off-topic, but shouldn't Shetland Sheepdogs be called Shetlies, not Shelties? Guess it's harder to say :)

As for tail-docking, I've heard arguments for keeping dogs from breaking their tails, but that seems like an issue with a small number of hunting breeds, and shouldn't thin breakable tails be bred out of those breeds, rather than resorting to docking?

[phantom power]

13. True, Shelties get weights taped to their ears.

I'm not particularly attached to cropping. I can see the logic behind banning it.

[Muttocracy]

17. weights??!

Is that so they are not fully pricked, so they flop over just right for show purposes?

How absurd.

[phantom power]

18. Strange, but true.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

44. Most dogs don't need that

They can have natural half-pricked ears. My border collie, Beag does. Our other border collie has fully pricked ears.

[Muttocracy]

48. right, that's why I was so surprised

My grandparents had collies and I have volunteered for BC rescue, and I've never heard of weights for getting a rose ear or whatever the collie show people call it.

[a la izquierda]

32. My vet won't crop or dock...

and he doesn't provide referrals to vets that do.

[Muttocracy]

33. good boy/girl! (gives treat)

[a la izquierda]

39. He is the best, best vet I've ever been to.

Dr. Rick McNeil, OKC, if anyone in the OKC area is looking for a wonderful, caring, honest vet. Dr. Rick takes absolutely wonderful care of my dogs. I love him and his staff to pieces, and they return the favor to my husband, me and our dogs. He rocks! Tell him Knuckles and Draper Stephens sent you :)

[Bucky]

21. I'm going to regret posting this...

but does this really alter the puppy's flavor?

[Rebubula]

25. You Bastard!

Now I have to try and explain to my coworkers why I laughed our loud during a meeting!!!

[readmoreoften]

36. I'm going to regret posting this...

Nah, they still taste FANTASTIC!

[hlthe2b]

26. Europeans long ago banned showing dogs with cropped ears...

I think we are moving towards this and should have, decades ago... It is a horrendous practice, but unlike this woman's deed, cropping of ears was done (legally) under anesthesia by those veterinarians willing to do the procedure. Increasingly, few veterinarians will.

[notadmblnd]

34. Or circumsizing a baby boy, or piercing a toddlers ears?

What about neutering and spaying your pets?

[XemaSab]

38. .

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

43. They don't crop Shelties ears

They just go up on their own.

[Cronus Protagonist]

2. They do this to every cow in existence.. why the disparity?

I've seen babies with ears pierced. Why is it so bad for cats?

[ColbertWatcher]

14. "Why is it so bad for cats?" The woman isn't doing this to cats, she's doing it to kittens. n/t

[Bucky]

22. Thank you. Too often we forget that kittens are below the age of consent.

Whereas cats might scratch the fuck out of you for trying this.

[ColbertWatcher]

28. Might? n/t

[Cronus Protagonist]

30. I did compare it to human babies

kids to kittens is a perfectly valid comparison - particularly when wondering, perhaps, if the parents of the human victims should likewise be censured.

[DonEBrook]

4. It's very creepy but I don't see how it's cruel.

:shrug:

[Muttocracy]

15. I wonder what it does to their hearing and risk of ear infection

Cats and kittens don't have earlobes - those are through the main part of their ear that funnels sound in, and I'd think they'd be an infection risk. Something tells me she wasn't doing this under the supervision of a vet...

[anigbrowl]

40. No more than getting the round part of your ear pierced

Like this, for example. I don't think much of decorating one's pets this way (or indeed in any way), but I don't see a major risk to it either. I think it's less cruel than the outcomes of some breeding strategies, though that's an area where dogs tend to suffer more than cats.

[Jamastiene]

37. Hold still while I go get my drill.

I JUST charged the batteries.

[derby378]

7. Cat's ears are very delicate - not meant for that kind of treatment

We're trying to find a new home for a kitty we rescued from the streets, and all we've done to her is shower her with love, give her decent nutrition, and keep her from suffering through our recent freeze. She's not a toy - she's a critter that just needs a good, stable home.

[AngryAmish]

8. An ox's nose is exquisitely tender

That is why you can "lead them around by the nose".

That said, this is a bad idea.

[Terran]

23. A cat with a ring attached to its body

is 100% likely at some point to get it caught on something and be injured. It's just idiotic, if not actively inhumane. The whole ear cropping thing is at least handled by a vet with proper care and follow-up. This would also probably kill a lot of animals because of infection.

[samplegirl]

19. This is just not right........

Cats just have no reason to have pierced ears! Why doesn't this crazy lune bitch just keep uglying up her ownself.

[Fumesucker]

42. Whereas children do have a reason for pierced ears?

As has been pointed out several time, people do this to very small children and no one seems to care.

Personally I think it's barbaric.

[Sophree]

20. Oh no!!!!

That poor kitty does not look happy...

I can't believe someone would do this for profit. Pierce your own body wherever you want, kittens don't have a choice in the matter. Wrong. Just wrong.

[TlalocW]

27. Good, now I can proceed with my Emo Kitty business

Where I tattoo rings of purple fading to black around the eyes with hair hanging over one eye, train them to mope, and write bad kitty poetry.

TlalocW

[Berry Cool]

29. I was really wishing this was a fake news story, a la the "Bonsai Kitten" Web site.

Not so, eh?? *sigh*

[Are_grits_groceries]

31. She marketed them on the web and

they had ear, neck and tail piercings!!

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2008/12/18/us/AP-ODD-Pierced-Kittens.html

I'd like to pierce her neck..........

[LisaL]

35. This article says the rings were put on cats tails and that

would eventually cause the tail to fall off. Yikes.
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Pierced_kittens_removed_from_home_12-17-2008.html

[Dorian Gray]

45. Oh

The poor little kitty. She looks like mine as a baby, but without the ugly ass earrings.

Who could do that to the precious little kitten?