The Latest Celebrity Cat Trends: Abandonment, Obesity and Stew

Lately it seems like cats need nine lives if they're going to be hanging around celebrities. Not that celebrities are known for stellar pet care, but it's usually accessorizing with small dogs that gets all the attention. Unfortunately, cats are also vulnerable to the whims of the rich and famous.

Amy Winehouse has added felines to her list of addictions. She has a habit of taking them in, letting them breed, and then being unable to manage them. She claims to love the animals, but when it was time for her to head to Jamaica, it was time for the cats go. She called an animal shelter to take them off her hands. After all, she had a flight to catch. Just like last year, when another group of cats was abandoned on her way to the Caribbean. 

Then there are the cats who cross paths with Italian cooking-show host Beppe Bigazzi and end up as cat stew. Bigazzi's show was suspended after he shared his recipe that involved "cat soaked for three days in the running water of a stream" to cultivate meat that's supposedly a Tuscan delicacy.

He wasn't surprised by the backlash, but he defended his offensive palate, saying it's really no different than other dishes like rabbit stew. "Now there will be letters from nature lovers. Why don't they defend rabbits?"

Many people do defend rabbits — and chickens and cows and pigs and whatever other animals he wants to throw on the stove — even in Bigazzi's home country. Just last month, a pair of logos were introduced in Italy to clearly mark vegan-friendly products. But that's almost beside the point. The way the majority of the population feels about the animals who share their homes isn't exactly a mystery; right or wrong, the idea of eating pets strikes a different chord than eating "food animals." I'd bet that people who have pet bunnies aren't among those lining up to try his rabbit stew recipes.

As Health Ministry Undersecretary Francesca Martini said, cat stew "hurts sensibility, which is fortunately steadily growing, toward animals." It's almost as if Bigazzi was trying to alienate his audience. Martini also noted that cats, as pets, are protected by law. You can't just decide to go around slaughtering any animal you want, anytime you want, anywhere you want.

The other recent celebrity/feline faux pas to hit the news was the breakout of the Fatcatlover Blog, thanks to Perez Hilton. The celebrity blogger plugged the site on Twitter, and was retweeted by other celebs like Amanda Bynes, and suddenly hundreds and hundreds of people were dropping by to laugh at photos of overweight cats.

People may think fat cats are adorable, but there's nothing cute about the pet obesity epidemic. It's estimated that half of the dogs and cats in the U.S. are overweight or obese, putting them at risk for respiratory problems, heart disease, and diabetes. These animals are literally being killed with kindness ... which really isn't so funny.

I'll admit that the fat cat blog isn't quite as egregious as Amy Winehouse's hoarding cycles or Beppe Bigazzi's cat recipes. But perpetuating the idea that cat obesity is all in good fun, as opposed to a health risk that needs to be taken seriously, puts pets in danger. 

Sadly, celebrities do have a tendency to influence trends, and that's bad news for cats these days.

Photo credit: Ivo Garcev