Meet the stars of the newest webcomic from "The Black Cat"!

[icon_uk]

Now, who could they be?




Click on the image to be take to the relevant DA page if you want to leave a comment there

And from that page comes this intro.

With the exception of Isis, Rozz (she can be found in the DC Super-Pets comics), and a black panther from the 80's (Dummy me can't remember the big guy's name) (I'll interrupt to mention that I believe that that was Hecate), Selina's cats have been nameless and only visible in the background.

After having seen the pages from the new Catwoman series, an idea started brewing and I tried to convince myself not to do it because of the work I'm doing on Batman and Sons during my free time. But I didn't listen (and who knows, some of us might think I should have).

But I did it and I love it!

It's not hard to figure out where Butch and Sunny got their names from unless never heard of the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. But deep down in my heart, I'm really naming them after the actors who portrayed the outlaws. That movie was the first PG movie I saw as a kid (Yes, I'm that old) and that experience always stayed fresh in my mind. It was a milestone to me.

Selina's Cats does take place in the Batman and Sons universe. So once in awhile, they'll pop up.

Comments

[silverzeo]

SO... that window had no glass?

[icon_uk]

Ummm.... No, the dog only licked the glass, it's the symbolism that counts.

[aeka]

I was wondering about that too...

[aeka]

You know...Selina doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would neuter her cats unless the cat in the comic was neutered by a previous owner and Selina just took him in.

[icon_uk]

Yeah, I see them as being strays who lucked into Selina's care.

[kksimone]

Spaying and neutering improves quality of life for many cats and helps reduce the number of unwanted animals. I'd assume any character who cares about animal welfare would support spay and neuter efforts and have her own pets/loosely associated animals fixed.

And I can especially see Selina having no patience for "But you're taking away his manhood" arguments.

[aeka]

Care to explain how removing two essential hormone producing organs that are responsible for regulating other functions in the body besides reproduction actually improves the quality of life for many animals? I'm genuinely curious.

As for "reducing the number of unwanted animals?" That's an excuse, and I won't even go into the ethics behind that rationale as it could potentially evolve into a heated argument on here, so I won't.

[kksimone]

Top 10 Reasons to Spay or Neuter

I can't speak for other countries, but in the United States there are more cats and dogs than there are homes for them. I wish that were an excuse.

I'd encourage everyone who cares about animals to consider fostering puppies and kittens. It helps not only that specific litter or animal, but it also allows more animals to be helped by freeing up shelter space.

[aeka]

From what I've read on that list, sterilisation seems to benefit the human community far more than the actual animals.

With regards to "spaying and neutering leading to longer, healthier lives and reducing cancer," I'd like to know what research they referenced that actually supports that link, and how recent those findings actually are. I can believe the cancer one to an extent, but as to whether or not sterilisation leads to a 'healthier' animal is questionable. As a counterpoint to that argument, cutting their supply of oestrogen and testosterone can also increase the risk for osteoporosis, decreased muscle mass and strength, and it can produce fatigue and depression, in addition to a decreased sex drive and sexual behaviour in the animal. At best, it's a double edged sword and the question remains, who actually benefits more from a sterilised animal.

Like I said, the ethics behind the rationale are questionable at best and controversial at that.

[nezchan]

"From what I've read on that list, sterilisation seems to benefit the human community far more than the actual animals. "

Well, if a cat's going to live in a city among humans, then there had best be some benefits for humans. The reward for fitting into human society is generally a longer, safer life, featuring being well fed, cared for, diseases and accidents looked after by vets, a more pleasant environment, more attention, etc., etc.

The alternative to doing things that help the cat integrate into human society is generally negative to a cat's health, especially in urban environments.

[alexanderlucard]

I can't speak for cats and dogs, but spaying female rabbits is exceptionally important if you want to see them live. Domestic and wild female rabbits have almost a 90% chance of developing ovarian tumours if left unspayed and doing so more than triples their life expectancy.

[pallas_athena]

Yes. Neutering male cats helps in the following ways:

--makes them less aggressive. An unneutered male will constantly fight to defend his territory and seek a mate. Injuries sustained while fighting can cause infections and abscesses which, if untreated, will lead to a slow, painful death. Bite wounds can also transmit incurable diseases like rabies and FIV.

--Obviously prevents ailments like testicular cancer

--Keeps them from roving and becoming lost. Neutered males have smaller territories than unneutered males. An unneutered male's tendency to roam puts him at greater risk of being hit on a busy road.

--If you're never going to let your cat have sex, it's unfair to leave him with the urge.

--An unneutered male cat will have behaviours such as territorial urine spraying that owners see as undesirable. Neutering makes it more likely that the cat will be kept and not join the millions of abandoned, uncared-for animals.

--Nor will he create any of the said abandoned and uncared-for animals.

Neutering females helps in the following ways:

--A spayed cat cannot develop ovarian cysts, pyrometra or cancer of the ovaries and uterus. Spaying also reduces the risk of mammary cancer.

--A spayed cat will not go into heat. A cat in heat is very unhappy until and unless she has sex. Assuming you're not going to let her, it's unfair to leave her with the urge. If she does mate, she may be bitten on the back of the neck, risking rabies and FIV.

--If she lives 7 years, one unneutered female cat can have 21,000 descendants. Neutering females is essential to prevent the exponential increase of unwanted, homeless cats, most of whom would die unhappy, unpleasant, early deaths.

Some more here.

Everyone should neuter their pets. Clear?

[aeka]

Fair point about the aggressive behaviour leading to injuries. But as I said to another poster above there are also other biological side effects to cutting an animal's supply of oestrogen and testosterone that aren't particularly beneficial to the animal, which is why question if it necessarily makes them 'healthier.'

As I said it's a double edged sword and one that ultimately it boils down to who actually benefits more from a sterilised animal, which is what makes the ethics behind it questionable and controversial.

[pallas_athena]

So if you had an unneutered male pet and he fatally injured someone else's pet, would you alter your opinion? How about if the injuries he caused weren't fatal? Would you help cover the vet bills? How would you feel knowing that your decision not to neuter had put that other pet owner in a place where they had to decide between high veterinary costs and their pet's death?

Or supposing you had an unneutered female pet who got pregnant. Would you find homes for each and every one of the offspring? Would you cover the cost of vaccinating them, or neutering them if it would make them more likely to be adopted? Supposing you've still got one or two of the offspring when they're four to six months old-- do you neuter them, or let them interbreed with each other and their parent? Or do you try and find them places at a no-kill shelter? (Hint: during kitten season, there are no shelter places.) The resources that you or the shelter will have to spend far exceed the costs of having had your pet spayed.

It's a question of the greater good. The animal population as a whole benefits from your decision to neuter the animals in your care. Even if you choose not to neuter your animals, they are still a hazard to other people's animals and to nearby strays, who will all suffer from your decision.

Cats in particular breed exponentially if unchecked; even if you don't care about the suffering and death of unwanted kittens, you might spare a thought for the survivors' effect on local wildlife populations. Most animal welfare organisations agree that the best way to manage feral cat colonies is TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return).

[aeka]

I believe the problem is a bit more complicated than that, and to answer most of your questions, let me put it this way: I think more in terms of whether or not animals flourish more domesticated or wild, and there are pros and cons to both and no definite answer at best. On the one hand, yes I can certainly agree that animals can benefit from our advanced medical technology to help prolong their health, but on the other hand, a quick fix such as neutering, causes other physiological effects that doesn't benefit the animal, and the animal misses out on other things in its life, even ones we ourselves enjoy. Domesticated animals, yes, have a higher chance of survival since they are for the most part protected from the dangers of the world and are provided for, but they also don't learn to survive on their own as a result and are more prone to earlier death as a consequence should the owner decide it no longer wants it.

A lot of the points you bring up appear to be more linked to human problems far more than the animals themselves. For example, people wanting to keep animals as pets. Is that something the animal itself actually wants, or is that something we entitle ourselves to? Which leads to the issue you brought up about medical bills for the animal. Keeping an animal in the house is a huge responsibility, and while I'm sure pet owners are interested in keeping their animals healthy, there's also the issue of maintaining a sanitised environment and keeping the people in your house (and ultimately neighbourhood) safe and healthy, which at that point is a human problem as well as the expenses that come with it. The issue you brought up about animal abuse is also a human behavioural problem that has nothing to do with an animal reproducing. With regards to the issue you brought up on overpopulation and threats to local wild life, you should ask yourself if this is a problem that evolved naturally and on its own, or did we play a hand in that? The article you linked me to seems to imply the latter.

[sistermagpie]

Domesticated animals, yes, have a higher chance of survival since they are for the most part protected from the dangers of the world and are provided for, but they also don't learn to survive on their own as a result and are more prone to earlier death as a consequence should the owner decide it no longer wants it.

I don't quite get the argument here. Dolphins adapting to live in the sea made them able to avoid land dangers, but also made them unable to survive if they were taken out of the ocean.

Every animal is adapted to limited environments. Some animals have adapted to live naturally with humans--that's one of the biggest advantages an animal can have. Sure there's trade offs either way, but the domestic animals exist now the way they are, so they do "want" (not exactly the right word) to be pets.

[farla]

Do you know what happens after you get tomcats neutered? They stop yowling miserably all the time. They stop limping back with their paws bitten through and their necks covered in blood and their ears torn off and their face so swollen they can't open the one eye they still have and their teeth broken so they can't eat because they're in too much pain to chew. They stop getting lost and coming back months later almost dead from starvation. They stop getting killed. You don't need to put them down because they've got FIV and their immune system just shut down and they're going to die of some stupid little virus. You neuter them, they calm down. They lie down and purr. They stop being scared and violent and high-strung and in pain.

The only time I've ever met someone who didn't neuter the cat because he was so concerned about the tom's happiness, it was an asshole who didn't bother feeding him and the cat, one of the nicest, most personable cats I've met, eventually chewed through the tail of another cat and was put down by animal control.

[pallas_athena]

Well, it sounds like you're never going to have pets, and I hope that is the case. I'm done arguing, since it's clear that you only hear what you want to hear.

[blackruzsa]

I'm not an expert, but unless you plan to make your cats breeders, them being pets and male while unspayed may cause some problems.

[big_daddy_d]

LMFAO!!!

[big_daddy_d]

So I think it's safe to assume that the dog likes to lick pussy. I thank you.