Trends such as The Queen is Coming, where TikTokers are replacing the phone with their cats, highlight a bigger problem on social media of pets being used like objects.
LINDSEY DODGSON: Another day, another TikTok trend to do with your cat. A popular sound on the platform right now allows people to recreate Sandra Oh’s iconic scene from “The Princess Diaries,” which sees her character — Vice Principal Geraldine Gupta — answer the phone by saying: “Gupta. Mhmm. Mhmm. Mhmm,” before hanging up and saying: “The Queen is coming.” With the latest trend, though, TikTokers are replacing the phone with their cats…
Veterinarian Dr. Jessica May told Insider people should be careful not to manhandle their pets. She said the trend “could ultimately lead to a dangerous misunderstanding of how animals should be handled”… According to May, some of the cats are clearly not being held appropriately — particularly when they are upside down.
“Many are handled roughly and their body language shows a negative response to having been picked up,” she said. “It is especially concerning to see some cats being held upside down — something that is not only very frightening for the animal but that also puts the pet at risk of head injury if dropped”… Sam Webster, a vet at Joii Pet Care, told Insider kittens can get bruised if they are not handled carefully enough or squeezed too hard. Plus cats can’t really tell us if they’re stressed…
Picking them up at such an unnatural angle could also lead to damage of their back, spine, or skull, she said. “Whilst such injuries are rare, they may require expensive treatment, or could cause irreversible injury, leaving a pet with a long term impairment and pain,” she said. May said it’s also troubling that there’s little indication of whether the cat is placed down appropriately afterwards…
Trends such as “The Queen is coming” highlight a bigger problem on social media of pets being used like objects. Paula Stewart, the codirector of The Animal Talent Agency, told Insider cats are treated worse than dogs in social media videos, possibly because of a misconception that they aren’t as intelligent or emotional. “Something like holding a cat upside down, it’s just not nice is it?” Stewart told Insider. “You wouldn’t do it to a baby, so I don’t understand why you’d do it to an animal.” SOURCE…
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