Couple of domestic cats in Western Australia painted with sticky blue paint

PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA-NEWS AND COMMENT: The RSPCA in Western Australia is investigating the painting of two domestic cats with blue paint as shown in the photograph. It's reported that the cats were 'doused' in sticky blue paint but nobody knows who did it if indeed it was done by a person. It may be accidental although unlikely by the nature of the painting. You see a black longhaired cat with his face covered in blue paint. 

It is difficult to see how that could happen accidentally. Perhaps a cat could fall into some paint but it would be highly unusual. An interesting aspect is that the blue paint is sticky. I think it was sticky because it was thickly applied and it was wet.  It must have happened not too far from the cat's home because the paint was wet and domestic cats don't normally wander far.

Couple of cats in Western Australia painted with sticky blue paint. Photo: Ladbible.

If I were the police, I would take a sample of the paint from this cat's face and analyse it. The analysis might point to the manufacturer. Armed with that information you could probably find the retailer and then you could interview the retailer to find out who bought the blue paint. If the paint was a specialist product, tracking down the perpetrator (if there is one) would be much easier.

One of the cat's owners lives in Perth's northern suburbs. She was distressed having discovered her cat with paint all over their face and other parts of the body. When she discovered her cat, the paint was still wet. The RSPCA say that they are unable to tell if it is an intentional act of cruelty. They are monitoring the cat's health while the paint is being removed by his or her owner.

The RSPCA are looking for people to assist them if they know anyone in the Quinns Rocks area. Another woman also reported her cat being drenched in paint. She said: "Same thing happened to our cat last night, not sure if it was an accident or not, also in Quinns Rocks. I never let him out, he must have snuck out."

As expected, the RSPCA recommends that people keep their cats indoors to protect them and wildlife. In certain parts of Australia there are some bylaws which mandate that citizens keep their cats indoors full-time but in Western Australia there are no state laws governing cat containment although there are some local governments i.e. local councils, which have implemented bylaws making cat containment obligatory.

Further comment: I've seen domestic cats painted like this before. The one that comes to mind was an example of accidental self-painting. A cat was covered in green 'stuff' when they rested in some disused building. I was discovered that the material on which they rested was covered in a green liquid or material which was deposited on the cat.