Pictures of wet cats the latest Internet sensation
By Gina Spadafori
June 11, 2009
Because LOLCats aren’t enough, the latest Internet cat photography craze is posting pictures of wet cats. Why? Because they’re funny. From ABC News Now, our Dr. Marty Becker has a few thoughts, along with our Dr. Rolan Tripp:
If there’s anything the stereotypically haughty house pets despise it’s being wet.
“I think it’s the closest you can see in the animal world to someone giving you the finger,” said veterinarian Marty Becker, co-author of “Why Do Cats Always Land on Their Feet?” “That look is unique in the animal world of total disgust. … It’s just a classic.”
And yet that look is taking the Internet by storm. As feline photo blogs continue to draw millions of visitors each month, the wet cat sub-genre is taking on a life of its own.
“They make such great drama, it’s like watching daytime soap in a bucket,” said Ben Huh, CEO of ICanHasCheezburger.com, one of the most popular cat photo blogs on the Internet. Each month, he said, about 3.6 million unique visitors check out his site for a daily dose of the feline funnies.
[...]
“Cats in the wild, they grow up hunting birds and mice, which are land animals,” said animal behavior expert Rolan Tripp, founder of AnimalBehavior.net.
If cats have not been socialized to accept water at a very young age, they’ll likely be frightened by the whole experience, he said.
He also said that, on average, felines are more fearful than canines because they’ve evolved as both prey and predator as opposed to just predator.
Here’s the rest. And yes, I have my own wet cat picture, of Clara, below. Clara and Ilario are bathed on a fairly regular basis, not because they need it, but because I do: Regular rinsing of your cat with clear water helps you cope with allergies to your pet. Pictures — and blood-letting — optional.
Wet cats are where the saying “if looks could kill” came from.
Kind of looks like Mr. Bigglesworth!
Comment by Original Lori — June 11, 2009 @ 7:43 am
He will be so much happier once he is dry.
Comment by Kritter Kondo — June 11, 2009 @ 8:37 am
I can understand grabbing a few photos if the cat had to be bathed anyway (we took a few with Alex wrapped in a towel after a bath to get the shelter skank off him), but the fad means that a lot of cats are going to be forced to go through something they don’t like and don’t need purely for human amusement. Fail.
Comment by Susan Fox — June 11, 2009 @ 9:45 am
No Clara was harmed in the taking of the picture, which is the only one I have of either one of them wet. (She was about six months old at the time.)
Really, I think different people do have different reactions. I have a picture of my retriever Ben (who passed away three years ago) teaching Chase the Cavalier how to swim at Christie’s old place, which was in the country. I thought the picture was adorable, perhaps because I was there and knew the Cavalier was having a great time. But another friend (who hadn’t been there) looked at the picture and was horrifed. She thought the little dog looked miserable.
All wet cats look unhappy. Even the ones who tolerate baths well. Personally, I can’t imagine trying to give a cat a bath just to get a picture. But then, I am not into tempting fate, claws or teeth!
Comment by Gina Spadafori — June 11, 2009 @ 10:24 am
I’m sure a few fools will wet their cats down. Once, lol!~ For what I would guess would be a majority of cat owners, it’s just not worth the risk. Especially any owner that has tried to pill their cat, get their cat in a carrier when s/he has other ideas, etc. And then there’s the added joy you could be trying to catch a soaking wet cat as they bolt for cover . . . and when you do catch up with them . . . well :)
Comment by straybaby — June 11, 2009 @ 10:38 am
Clara certainly looked happier in yesterdays photo LOL.
I can remember when I was in my teens, my brother and I bathed one of the cats (can’t for the life of me remember why, it’s certainly not something we would normally do, so whether she’d got something unmentionable on her or what I have no idea) I do remember my brothers T Shirt at the end of it though (as we watched her running away). It was shredded !!
All three of us were soaked, and he was lucky only his T Shirt had felt the full implact of those claws.
I did have to bath 2 of my cats when I first got them as kittens, one had lice and the other was running alive with fleas, I don’t think that was too awful though.
I hope not too many (I doubt it would be none) people would wet their cats just for the photo opportunity. Mine look just fine dry :)
Comment by Alison — June 11, 2009 @ 1:01 pm
And yet, turns out, mad as a wet hen — not so mad. Whassup with that?
They are out there in the rain right now, scratching and clucking.
Now, don’t get them started about snow.
Comment by H. Houlahan — June 11, 2009 @ 1:36 pm
Ya, I worry about distressing cats, too, just to laugh at them!
I will say half the cat seems to disappear when they are soaked with water.
Cats do need to be bathed, though, if the one that takes care of them is allergic—I understand that fully.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — June 12, 2009 @ 9:01 am
My initial reaction was the same as Susan’s. There surely are a lot of . . . stupid . . . people out there who just might try to bathe their cats for a “cute” photo. Hope I’m wrong, though. I’ve never had to bathe a whole cat - just a damp washcloth to parts was bad enough!
Comment by catmom5 — June 12, 2009 @ 10:53 am
I bathe my cats. Sometimes they just need it, is all. Cueball the Sphynx most frequently, but the two furry ones get a bit greasy and grubby over time too and damp cloths and combs only goes so far.
IMHO, it’s a good thing to teach a cat to put up with, even if you just rinse them down periodically. That way, when they get into something you’d just as soon they didn’t lick off, it’s not a big traumatic deal.
Comment by Eucritta — June 12, 2009 @ 11:50 am
Whats so funny about pictures of humiliated pets?
Not trying to be mean or anything just realistic.
Comment by Kate — June 12, 2009 @ 2:34 pm
What’s so funny about people tripping on a banana peel? And yet, we laugh. I am sure there’s a complex explanation for the reaction.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — June 12, 2009 @ 3:18 pm
I guess I’d say that in the case of the banana peel, it’s humans doing it to themselves or each other.
The cats are dependents, however much they try to convince us they’re not, and humans causing them discomfort for human amusement isn’t, uh, amusing. To me, anyway.
Plus, anyone who’s been around cats for any length of time knows that they are capable of feeling humiliated and embarrassed. We never laugh at our cats to their faces when they’ve done something dumb like fall off the sofa while grooming. With them if they’re being silly, but not at them.
I don’t think it is possible to be involved in animal welfare or rescue work over the long haul without maintaining a sense of humor and perspective, but I guess soaking wet cats just doesn’t do it for me.
But Michael Vick doing six months of dunk tank duty eight hours a day? Now that’s funny!
Comment by Susan Fox — June 12, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
To me, it is unkind—to say the least—to amuse ourselves at the expense of stressing a cat.
Cats I have known have hated water and freak out when immersed in said water.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — June 12, 2009 @ 9:45 pm
Not everyone laughs at someone who falls on a banana peel either . . . or at some of the “humor” on those home-taped video shows.
Humiliation and embarrassment are simply not funny . . . to me. So, I vote for no wet cat “humor”!
Comment by catmom5 — June 13, 2009 @ 7:02 am
Bathing a cat is sometimes necessary. Any cat lover knows that they hate that experience. So why take pictures of that? Think of one humiliating event in your life. Let’s take a photo of your facial expression. How cute!?
NOT!!!!
Comment by missys21 — July 9, 2009 @ 2:36 pm
I get what people are saying but:
http://cuteoverload.com/2009/0.....n-the-tub/
the expression on 5 and 8 tell me these guys will get their own revenge.
Comment by Original Lori — July 22, 2009 @ 1:44 pm