Last night I heard a kerfuffle was brewing among online cat fanciers, with some people saying putting your cat in a costume is abuse. Upon further exploration I found two blogs written by people with popular accounts on Instagram that talked about the dangers of dressing your cats in costumes.
thelondoncatbehaviourist.home.blog
My knee-jerk reaction was to mount a vigorous and vocal defense, but reactivity is so 2017. Instead, I read and re-read the blogs, considered their words carefully, reflected on my own knowledge and experience, and conducted my own research.
I want to make it clear from the outset that this is an opinion piece based on my education and work in the field of psychology and my experience as a pet guardian and Cat Behaviorist (you can read more here https://squishdelishcats.com/cat-behavior/).
While there is a large body of theory and research about how cats learn, bond, and develop trust, I was unable to find any research directly related to how putting a cat in a costume relates to these topics.
WHERE WE AGREE
ONE: Most cats are not fans of wearing costumes or dressing up. Part of this is due to the fact that most costumes are not made for cats and may bind them in places that reduce their balance or cut off their visual or auditory acuity. Personality also plays a role as does when and how costumes are introduced to your cat (see more about positive reinforcement and early introduction below).
TWO: If you continue to dress your cats in costumes knowing they are vehemently opposed to it, you risk at the very least a good scratch and possibly considerably more.
THREE: Some cats wear dresses and shirts for health reasons including Feline Hyperesthesia – like Sauerkraut. Other cats may wear clothing to prevent them 
from pulling out stitches or worrying a wound. Some kitties, just like dogs, wear a harness for their walks. I do not consider these costumes, but they are examples of how cats do great in the right type of clothing.
FOUR: If you feel that cats shouldn’t wear costumes, I support you in your choice to unfollow those that do. I assume that if this is important to you, you are already involved in rescue, fostering, and other animal welfare causes and I applaud you for that. You have a right to voice your opinions and make calls to action as long as they are clearly stated as such. I myself could not find a single study to support the assertion that dressing your cat up would have any lasting, negative consequences and there seemed to be some confusion among those commenting about what was research based fact and what was opinion.
FINDING COMMON GROUND
I identified these two themes in both blogs: 1) The perceived danger of putting stress on your cat, and 2) The risk of corrupting the bond between guardian and cat by humiliating them or infringing on their feline nature. I think both can be avoided by using a little common sense. Simply don’t force a cat who clearly hates dressing up to wear costumes.
Perhaps where we differ is that I trust guardians to know their cats well enough to determine if they truly loathe costumes, are ambivalent about dressing up, don’t mind costumes, or are actually enjoying being decked out.
Here are clear signs your cat hates to dress up:
- They won’t look up and keep their head and tail low.
- You struggle to get them in the costume and then they struggle to get out.
- They hide or try and make themselves small.
- They don’t respond to voice or treat cues while in the costume.
- They act immobilized or fall over.
- They hiss, growl, scratch or run.
- They show other signs of stress, like panting or licking their lips.
Squish was not pro-costume
While the aforementioned bloggers maintain putting cats into costumes is against their feline nature, cats are highly adaptable. They poop in boxes, live life indoors, and walk on leashes. Your cat sees nothing inherently wrong or shameful about a costume. Once on, they may find a costume uncomfortable or feel uneasy about its interference with one or more of their senses. They will then set a boundary and as their guardian you must respect that boundary.
The key to making the cat-human relationship work is identifying and respecting your cat’s individual boundaries.
This applies in other contexts as well. For example, this means you don’t kiss your cat’s face if they don’t like it, you carry them as little as possible if they prefer to walk, and you may have to resist the urge to pet the exposed, fluffy belly of your cat.
SENSIBLE GUIDELINES FOR CATS IN COSTUMES
I think it might be helpful for the cat community to talk about what sensible guidelines for dressing your cat up might look like. Here are my suggestions, I welcome your input:
Choosing a Costume
- Make sure the costume fits and isn’t too restrictive.
- Favor costumes that have ear holes or don’t cover the ears at all.
- Costumes should not seriously interfere with vision, whiskers or movement of the tail.
- Less is more: Most cats will prefer a tie, cape or fascinator over head to toe costuming, especially to start.
Set Limits
- Keep your cat’s time in costume short and never leave them unattended.
- If your cat is shy, do not make them the center of attention.
- Do not take your cat outdoors in costume unless they are securely leashed or in a suitable enclosure. If your cat is not used to being outside, taking them outside in a costume will prove especially stressful for them.
- Your cat is in charge. If they are not into it, stop.
Reward Early, Reward Often
Training a cat to associate costumes with positive rewards can make dress up time quite enjoyable for all involved. Start young (if you can) and try small elements of a costume like a hat, tie or vest first – rewarding each time. At any sign of discomfort or stress, stop. Your cat will likely be very clear about their preferences. Fergie says yes to bows, fascinators, and crowns and a firm no to everything else.
Check In With Yourself and Your Cat
Are you having fun? Is your cat? You know your cat best, so proceed accordingly. Be sure to look for any signs of stress as outlined above. It’s easy to get carried away creating that perfect social media pic or video and miss that your kitty is no longer enjoying themselves, so make their comfort your number one priority.
Final Thoughts
It concerns me that the opinions represented in “I have a Confession” were seen as scientifically documented and researched facts. Quoting the opinion of an expert in the field, while valuable is not the same as findings from a well-designed and replicated research study. I am not sure where the breakdown occurred and I’m not pointing fingers. If there is research specific to cats wearing costumes, I would honestly be more than thrilled to read it – and not just because I’m a stats nerd!
I want to end on a high note so I will say that I love being part of this amazing cat community. I hope that we will continue to discuss these issues with open minds knowing we will never agree on everything, but that doesn’t have to mean civil war. It is important that even as we attempt to express our opinions, we also listen and remain open to changing our own minds.
As my kitties are getting older, I am grateful to have the reminder to identify and respect their changing needs and boundaries. This means recycling old pictures of Duffy in costumes, keeping all photo shoots short and positive, and allowing Fergie to step in and out of shoots as she chooses.
Photo of a tiny hat on a kitten by @iamthecatphotographer
⇒⇒⇒Stay tuned for an upcoming blog where we address the controversy surrounding the breeding and purchasing of designer cats.
Hi there, thank you for sharing this with me. Unfortunately, you did already lose me in the first paragraph where you accuse me of calling for people to stop following accounts who dress up cats. I did no such thing. I merely said I would unfollow as seeing dressed up cats on my feed upsets me. I did not urge or call for anyone to do the same. Good to see you agree with some of what Anneken and I say. I agree with a lot of what you say too but when it comes to the dressing up part, we’ll have to agree to disagree. In my humble opinion, there’s simply no need for it. It’s not because we can condition an animal that we necessarily should. Plenty of lions have been conditioned to jump through burning hoops in the circus. That doesn’t make it right. I have no doubt you are a very knowledgable, experienced professional who has written a very eloquent blog so I’m somewhat surprised you choose to accuse one of your sources of something they simply haven’t done.
Your assumption is right about my involvement in animal welfare. I have worked the past 7 years as a volunteer in various shelters across London, have photographed 3000+ cats and have tirelessly worked to help rehabilitate those who suffer from cruelty and neglect. I’m also a member of ISAP ( International Society of Animal Professionals) based on my existing qualifications ( earned with distinction) so I too have some first hand knowledge on cat behaviour and psychology. Although there may not be any research available about the direct link between dressing up cats ( in inappropriate costumes) and stress, it’s pretty obvious ,to me at least, that anything that interferes with the fight or flight response will be a stressor. So my question will always remain the same. Why? Why do we think it’s ok to interfere with another species’ fight or flight response by subjecting them to something that is simply unnecessary ( unless for medical reasons). This is obviously where you and I will disagree, but that’s fine. You clearly do so much for animals that we must have much more we can agree on than disagree on.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I am referring to your call to action at the end. If I misinterpreted what you meant by that, I will certainly correct my blog.
My question to you is this. Why do you assume all cats in a costume are experiencing a fight or flight response?
I also want to point out that there are many things we do that may provoke that natural response or produce stress, from throwing dinner parties to going on vacation.
The point of any parent (human or animal) is not to shield our progeny from every possible stress. Rather, it is to show that one can be stressed or fearful and recover. This can be reinforced through respecting their boundaries and providing consistent care and enrichment.
I do agree that if your cat is showing distress, you should absolutely stop.
There are many things we as humans do that could be called selfish when it comes to animals. Many would say letting your cat outdoors is selfish or that breeding cats and buying a kitten from a breeder is selfish. I choose not to do those things and try to educate and promote rescue kitties.
Here’s the thing, I really do support your right to your opinions. If we disagree, I won’t disparage you or judge you and in fact I hope you see I support whatever actions you feel you need to take. I just want to be sure that people reading what you write know that this is your opinion, not fact backed up by research.
Finally, thank you for being an animal advocate. I know we may disagree on this topic, but our hearts are both in the same place.
I hope we can continue to have an open dialogue.
Hi Ruth, thank you for getting back in touch. My call at the end was meant as a question if people agreed with me not to dress their cats unnecessarily so. I can however see how this can be misinterpreted and will edit it accordingly.
I really was merely trying to get people to have a think about why they may dress up their cats and why it could cause stress for the animals. I think we both agree it could in certain situations. I don’t state anywhere that the flight or flight response always kicks in when animals are being dressed. As you say yourself, there’s plenty of them who have been conditioned to wear medial shirts or harnesses very successfully. I wrote my blog with specifically “made in China – hideously restrictive, flammable ” costumes in mind. Not bowties or harmless medical shirts. Perhaps I should have been much more clear about that too. I wrongly assumed the mention of Halloween would be enough to make that clear. As with all things in life, there’s plenty of nuance which cannot always be expressed in one go. ( If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this blog, is that trying to keep things short so not to loose your audience, isn’t always the best option.) We live and learn, we live and learn…
The biggest problem I have is that there’s a section of the COI community who has misquoted my every word, spread hideous lies of what I allegedly have written that this has snow balled into an utter free for all to just throw insults at me and Anneken but mostly me.
You and I are mostly on the same page and I have no doubt you’re an incredible cat advocate too but unfortunately, not everyone is a good at reading stress signs as we both are and that’s where my fear lies. As we know all too well, people like to copy anything they see on social media “for a laugh” and it’s that trend that worries and upsets me greatly. It may well be a cultural difference too. Here in Europe, until 3-5 years ago, we had never seen cats dressed up or being pushed around in strollers. These are “trends” that have come over from the USA to us and a lot of us just don’t understand why it’s necessary? I guess what I’m trying to say is that a lot of europeans have a more “pragmatic” attitude towards cats. I had no intention of making it sound like all dressed up cats, in any item of clothing will definitely suffer. I really don’t think I’ve said that in my blog. Unfortunately, this is how it’s now being perceived, largely due to a very small section of the COI community who appears to be on a witch hunt. I actually make it clear I’m not fully qualified yet, though months away, and nowhere do I profess to be an expert.
On a side note, I think the reason there’s no hard evidence yet about the link between stress and dressing up cats is that a.) it’s only a recent phenomena and b). I’m not entirely sure it would adhere to UK Animal Welfare Laws if scientist tested this hypothesis as many of them, I suspect, would think it’s a stressful thing to do to an animal. I really can’t be sure. I might see if any of the leading behaviourists in the UK could shine a light on that for me. If I find out, I will make sure to share my findings.
In the mean time, thank you for being the first person ,who partly disagrees with me, that has dealt with me in a very civilised manner. We do sing mostly of the hymn sheet and it makes me happy to know that rescue cats in the US have you fighting for them too, the same way I do here in the UK. We both just want what’s best for cats and for that, I’m eternally grateful.
Right, I’m off to amend that last sentence in my blog!
Have a lovely weekend
I’m quite jealous you are in the UK, which is far ahead of the state’s in providing education for Cat Behaviorists! Here the options are online school or veterinary programs. The online schools are woefully inadequate.
Research on cats in most areas is woefully underfunded, as I quickly found out when my cat had cancer. But perhaps this new wave of cat advocates will change that.
I am also very concerned that a young, inexperienced owner or someone just looking for attention would miss or ignore signs a cat is in distress so all the more important we have these conversations!
The cultural differences are something I hadn’t thought of. Plus, I think the Cat community as a whole is changing thanks to social media. Before, cat lovers didn’t really have a forum to share our pets, exchange ideas, and meet in person.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Hi there
thank you for sharing this and joining the debate. What I really wanted to achieve with my blog was for people to talk about the subject, reflect on it and debate – which you did, which is great!
I agree with a lot of what you said but like Marjan we will have to agree to disagree on some things. I don’t believe positive conditioning should ever be used for a purpose that has no real value to the animal and is simply unnecessary. It’s a powerful tool that should be used responsibly.
I also must say I find it a little disappointing that a Cat Behaviourist would actively promote the dressing up of cats online. With over 80k followers on Instagram you are reaching a very wide audience and you are posting predominantly photos of your cats dressed up. While you may be knowledgeable and experienced enough to read your cats correctly while doing it, thereby keeping their discomfort to a minimum, a large proportion of people may not know how to correctly read signs of stress in their cats.
To me, someone who is promoting welfare and health in animals should always thrive to be a good example as well. Since your job is to ensure cats are happy and have a healthy bond with their humans it just feels wrong to me that you would promote something that could potentially have a detrimental effect on the human-cat-relationship. People might see your content and think it’s fine to do the same, but unlike you they may misread or ignore their cat’s signs of stress, pain or discomfort.
However that is just my opinion based on my belief that dressing up cats in costumes is not adding anything positive to cats lives and I appreciate that you may disagree.
In any case – thank you again for joining the debate in a thoughtful and friendly manner.
I’m so glad you could see I really thought carefully about what you wrote. Dialogue is so important! I don’t dress Fergie except for bows and never dressed Squish because that’s where she set the boundary.
Duffy really enjoys costumes and will even jump up on my staging table in anticipation. It’s a special bonding time for us.
That being said, this is such a tiny part of our lives. I take special care each day to ensure my kitties are brushed, get one on one time, and lots of play and enrichment activities.
Duffy requires spooning sessions 4 times a day and I even put him down for naps. Fergie loves to play and sit on my shoulder for pets. I might take pictures once or twice a week, but my policy has always been my cats needs come first, then everything else can follow.
I’m am so glad you wrote this well-thought out and carefully considered piece! Dressing ones’ cats can be stressful or it can be a positive experience and I love that you are helping people read cats body language to assess how they might be feeling in a situation. And those are great tips for any cat owner in any situation. I really like that you note that by virtue of cats living in our houses, they are adapting to things that go against their more wild instincts- like using a litter box- which we all know can be a challenge sometimes! My cats are all domestic shorthairs with no medical issues, but they will harass me no end to let them go under the blankets with me because it is warm and cozy under there and they know it. They have learned how to operate in a human-centric environment to be most comfortable. I’m really pleased to see that you acknowledge that while something may be a thing you or your cat do not feel the need to engage in yourself, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be something enriching or enjoyable experience for someone else. My cats hate wearing anything, collars, harnesses, any kind of garment so they go naked and I just pray they don’t ever get outside and get lost or killed on the busy street where I live. None of my cats enjoyed being outside (on a harness) either. Can being outdoors be dangerous? Absolutely! Do I think that no one should take their cat out on a harness for walks because it doesn’t work for us? No! I think you should listen to your cat, be safe and aware, and use common sense.
Thank you Laura! I agree completely!
Hello!!!
What a great informative and objective article. I’ve read so many negative things about dressing cats…. mainly they appears written by people who want attention and want to sensationalize the issue… And thanks to your concise and factual reporting I feel so much more informed now.
I’ve been dressing my cat for several years and have experienced none of the negative things expressed in other articles that I’ve read about.
He is rarely in his outfits for long and it’s just to snap a few pictures. I know my cat and I know the boundaries…. if I can post a few pictures on Instagram to make people smile or laugh, then I will continue doing so. The world needs a little more to smile about right now.
And for those people who think it’s cruel, perhaps they should contact their local humane society or ASPCA and see what real cruelty is.
Thank you again for a great article!!!
Trish
Thanks Trish! That’s where the title came from. Seeing cute cats online is sometimes the only bright spot in my day!
Thank you for writing such an informative article. It is important to know what a cat likes and dislikes. One of my cats started wearing clothes due to Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome. She absolutely loves wearing clothes and the one on one attention she gets while having pictures taken. She will hit at the other cats if they walk in on her photo shoot and invade her space! All 5 of my cats have worn hats, costumes, or clothes at some point. I know which cats prefer a bow tie to clothing and who draws a line at wearing a hat. It is completely up to my cats if they want to participate.
While some cats may not want anything to do with dressing up in any way shape or form does not mean that all cats are this way.
I appreciate all the information you have given and hope others will take the time to read this entire article. Most importantly, know your cat and what they enjoy not just what they tolerate!
It’s great to hear from someone who whose kitty has a hyperesthesia! I am glad she enjoys dressing up and I bet she knows she’s a very special kitty.