elenaiwt/Instagram
February 7, 2021, 8:52 am
People love treating their pets like humans. They may get all dolled up at the groomers, be forced into fancy outfits for photos, or even get to go out to restaurants and eat off a special pet menu.
Advertisement
Hide
But for most pet people, there are hard lines into human traditions you don’t cross, and that includes tattooing your furry friend.
Advertisement
Hide
Ukrainian Instagram influencer Elena Iwanickaya had no such hesitation when she got her hairless cat, Yasha, tattooed with the image of the Egyptian god Anubis back in 2017.
According to the Daily Dot, the incident caused outrage online at the time, with people trying to get PETA involved and accusing Iwanickaya of animal cruelty.
Nothing appeared to come from the accusations, and the model explained that Yasha was under anesthetic while he was tattooed, and claimed that there was a vet supervising the whole time.
“This cat’s life is better than yours,” she told critics. “Maybe it is hell for you, but he feels fine.”
Advertisement
Hide
Advertisement
Hide
Even though it’s been over three years, the backlash seems to have erupted yet again, after the influencer posted another photo of Yasha with his tattoo on full display last week.
“Why do you tattoo an animal?!” asked @sarah.kler. “Tf…?! Poor cat!”
Advertisement
Hide
Another Instagram user commented that “tattooing your pet is not fashionable or trendy. This is extreme animal abuse!”
As the actual tattooing happened so long ago, and Yasha seems to be doing just fine, there’s no reason to believe that the allegations of animal abuse will amount to any further investigation.
However, the renewed attention did cause Iwanickaya to make Yasha’s Instagram private and is hopefully driving it home for some people that just because it may look cool to tattoo an animal doesn’t mean that it’s the greatest decision.
*First Published: February 7, 2021, 8:52 am
0 Comments