The UK’s leading feline welfare charity, Cats Protection, has issued a strong warning against dressing up cats following recent internet trends.

This comes after reports that a student in Switzerland is making a lot of money selling kitty couture to customers in the UK.

“We are really disappointed to hear this as forcing cats into clothes can be incredibly stressful,” said Beth Skillings, Cats Protection’s Clinical Veterinary Officer.

“It restricts movement and makes them less able to express their normal behaviour, such as grooming. More importantly, clothing can get caught or snagged on furniture or other household objects resulting in injury to the cat.”

The charity added that if a cat struggles while the clothes are being put on then it could lead to a reluctance to being handled or stroked, even after the clothes are removed.
 
It also says the only justification for clothing cats is for medical reasons, for example if it is old, ill or bald. Even this, Cats Protection says, should only be done on the advice of a vet.

“Cats are not fashion accessories and we hope this fad doesn’t encourage owners to treat them as such,” said Beth. “Those who genuinely love their cats will allow them to express their natural behaviour and not treat them as small, furry humans.”

The Cats Protection response came after a national newspaper carried the story of  Swiss student setting up a UK website Meowstore.co.uk which sells fancy dress costumes for cats.

The idea for his business came after 21-year-old Floris Schmucki posted snaps of his pet cat wearing a lion costume.

Since then he has been bombarded with requests from other cat lovers who wanted something similar for their own pet.

He said: "I realised there was a demand there and when I started selling commercially was amazed to get so many requests.

"And after going online to make sales I realised that there was an especially high demand from the UK, so we are now actively selling to retail customers in the UK, targeting pet shops and others dealing directly with the public."

Despite criticism from welfare groups like Cats Protection, Schmucki says he has ensured that the costumes do not cause any problems for a cat's well-being."