Clothes On Cats?

[-Mia-]

I received a message from a friend who is smitten with my kitten. She was out shopping and stumbled upon a cute doggie sweater that she thinks will fit (and look great on) my kitten.

Does anyone here put clothes on their cats, or is this a no-no?

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Some cats like/tolerate it. Others will hate it and instinctually freeze like they can't move. My two would be in the "hate" category.

I've had a couple hat type costumes for Mooch but they never lasted longer than getting a picture. If that! She did like a little bandana; but I never left it on long or unsupervised for safety reasons.

Personally; I wouldn't force it like I might with a collar since a collar is for safety.

 

[Ragdollbabies]

I think it depends on the cat!

One of my kittens wore a onesie for 10 days while recovering from her spay surgery, and she liked it quite well. She HATED the cone that the vet gave us, but every time we took it off she started to lick at her stitches. So I instead put her in a baby onesie (with a hole cut for her head), and she was so much happier! The only thing she didn't like was that she couldn't clean her fur under the onesie, so I would take it off occasionally to let her wash herself while I supervised.

 

[Neo_23]

My kitten would play dead, then run a rampage around the house, and then claw my face off. Exactly in that order.

 

[Kat0121]

I would never do that. Would I Sophie?

Sophie: "Oh you have jokes now? Whatever. Yeah I'm cute and I know it"

 

[-Mia-]

Yeah, I would never force it on my kitten! I certainly don't want her to be unhappy, upset or stressed out over something so frivolous.

My kitten didn't lick her stitches, so I didn't have to worry about coming up with an idea, but I like the onesie idea. I will have to remember that for future spayed kittens that may need it!

 

[-Mia-]

I would never do that. Would I Sophie?

Awww! That's adorable!!! Does your Sophie like to wear clothes?!!

 

[EggSandwich]

I would bear a few new battle scars if I tried doing anything of the sort to Cinnamon.

Though, I must admit: I did once try to put a little sombrero made for dogs on her.. never again.

 

[Merlin77]

I can't morally put clothes on cats, they are such fre spirits it would break my heart to see one dressed up like a human toy.

But it definitely depends on the cat. If the cat likes it... then ok.

All of my cats would hate it. I've never tried but I'm sure they would rip up the clothing and run away, not coming back until after a good three weeks.

 

[Kat0121]

Awww! That's adorable!!! Does your Sophie like to wear clothes?!!

She only had it on for the picture. Then I took it off. It wasn't on for more than a couple of minutes. She was quite a good sport about it. She didn't protest but I didn't want to upset her by keeping it on her too long. She got some yummy treats after and that made her quite happy.

 

[-Mia-]

I'd like to be able to get some pictures too, but we'll have to see how that goes. I have yet to attempt to introduce any clothing items into her life, lol... I definitely won't force it though!

 

[Ragdollbabies]

Sophie looks so cute in her bunny hat! Here's a photo of my Evie in her onesie, and this is the video that showed me how to make it:

 

[MeganLLB]

My cat is used to wearing a harness, and I even have a jacket like harness that looks like a sweatshirt with a hood. And I put a halloween costume on her. She doesn't mind it.

But for safety reasons, I wouldn't leave clothes on a cat and leave them unattended.

 

[himawari]

My cat got used to wearing a harness and sometimes I would put my dog's clothes on him. He used to fight me about it but now just let's me put it on him until he thinks I'm not looking & he tries to take it off. Most times though, he leaves it be. And with the harness, he doesn't mind it at all.

 

[Blakeney Green]

I put a pumpkin sweater on Toad for Halloween.



She didn't seem to mind it - she was curious but didn't seem upset. I only left it on for about five minutes to take pictures. Once she started squirming in it a bit (I think because she got too hot,) I took it off.

 

[prairiepanda]

My old cat actually enjoyed dressing up! She would come running whenever someone picked up one of her sweaters, and sometimes even brought sweaters to people to put them on. We think the reason she liked it so much was that it made people look at her more.

My current cat is completely indifferent to wearing clothes. He doesn't resist getting them on, and doesn't seem at all bothered when he's wearing them, but he doesn't enjoy it the way my old cat did.

Every cat is different, though. If you tried to put a sweater on my sister's cat your arms would look like they've been through a Saw trap and then the cat would stop talking to you for a week.

In my opinion, if a cat enjoys it or is indifferent then there's no harm done. I would never try to dress up a cat that is at all uncomfortable in clothes. Also, if the cat is okay wearing clothes I would only let them wear clothes while under active supervision. If nobody can watch them, keep them naked. Cats can be really good at finding ways to get hurt, especially while wearing a costume.

 

[-Mia-]

Thanks everyone! I want to definitely try it, but I promise I won't torture her with it. If she doesn't like it, so be it. Fortunately, I think she's cute naked!... And it would just be for fun and novelty, and maybe a picture or two.

Now, I need to go find some cat clothes...