Cat Costumes for Halloween?

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With the approach of Halloween, many cat owners may be tempted to put costumes on their fine feline friends. But should they?

Before slipping your cherished companion into something she may detest and you may regret, consider the following:

Kitty’s particular purr-sonality

Like their canine counterparts, some cats have outgoing personalities with a need to meet every guest you greet to the parties you host, coupled with an insatiable desire for affection. If yours is one of these, fun loving and fearless, then she may be an ideal candidate for a costume.

If, on the other paw, yours is sensitive and skittish, one who shies away from too much human contact and becomes over-stimulated all too easily, don’t increase her anxiety by adding a costume to the confusion.

 Kitty’s point of view

If you start putting a costume on your cat and she resists, cease and desist! Not only do cats use their eyes to “view” the world, they also use their ears, nose and whiskers, tails, paws and fur to both sense that world and interact with it. A costume severely limits those abilities, thereby contributing to her extreme discomfort and increased feelings of insecurity.

Kitty’s best costume

If yours is an outgoing and easygoing social butterfly, undaunted by the challenge of dressing up to the nines, ensure, nonetheless, that the costume you choose is feline friendly. Never select an outfit designed for a dog since they’re more constrictive. Look for one that’s looser, one that won’t make your cat feel either uncomfortable or overwhelmed.

For the less adventurous but still game kitty, forego the costume altogether and opt for a festive bow tie instead. It may be a whisper of an outfit, but a whiskered face never looked cuter than when highlighted by a Halloween-themed bow tie.

 Whatever the costume your cat wears, never leave her alone in it. She can, all too easily if unintentionally, get twisted up inside it. Even a hat can be dangerous if it slides down over her face.

To be safe, never sorry, monitor your festive feline closely, capture her cuteness for posterity — and social media — swiftly, then remove her costume and allow her to scamper back to her unadorned but still adorable kitty cat life.