I said I planned to take this severely autistic kid with me to the car wash and people stopped in their tracks and incredulously asked why I would do that.
He's anxious, sure. Any animal would be in that spot. His ears aren't pinned back, so he's not in fight-or-flight. You can see them wave around a little. There's curiosity there. Also remember that his owner is right next to him, and he's in no physical danger whatsoever.
An animal does not need pinned ears, physical injury, or full panic to be distressed. Dilated pupils, rigid posture, hypervigilance, and vocalizing are all stress signals, and curiosity can coexist with fear. Avoiding an unnecessary, deliberately stressful situation is not “coddling.” The cat gains nothing from being taken through a car wash for entertainment.
What I mean to say is that the level of stress here isn't to the point of actual harm, psychological or otherwise. I've seen much bigger reactions from my own cat from a rainstorm, seeing a big animal outside the window, or from knocking something over and being surprised by the sound it makes. If they ran him through multiple times and he didn't calm down, sure, that'd be cruel. But a one-off where he's still comfortable enough to sit tall and look around is completely fine.
manystripes
You are traveling to another dimension
jimhotep
Poor bebe
PotatoSalt
Give your cat a heart attack.. for, you know, the likes
AlexandraValove
Witnessing Alderaan's destruction
Mariguamar
Not cool for the cat.
KaptainObveeus
Geez poor kitty freak it the fuck out.
Leonon
Aurora Borealis?
michaelfire
me too, cat, me too
Jamnew60
Sensory overload!
amiurume
Made the mistake of bringing my Chiweenie through the car wash. She was traumatized for the rest of the day.
IToldYouSo1
Peasant 🗽🤣
TupacAintDead
“Yo yo yo! Human! Are you fucking seeing this shit?!?!”
SeaJaySail
Kitty is terrified. Mofo.
villasonico
“yo Mike, wtf, apocalypse now”
SimSimSimsalabim
"We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold."
curialis
This is what I picture for Einstein in Back to the Future when they send him forward in time
Klaustrophile
https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1cXBqamlqNWh1OHV2eDUzdDg2a2FmZWo2MHczZXBvZnVxZWptbjE4ayZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/AS7Gf3o46eba0Ct1L3/200w.webp
inkican
Now it's time to scrub the cat pee from the inside.
WickedGiggle
/a/BZunuMl
I just had to add audio.
TresusIbor
"WE'RE BEING ABDUCTED!"
Godryc
GTFO with that abuse.
SpikedDoggos
Yeah, I learned my lesson doing this with my cattle dog, one time. Never again....
Macetheace50
KAPTKipper
Turboslacker
I'm going to make this my phone background
PineappleLoopsBroether
Turboslacker
PineappleLoopsBroether
SanchoLibre
PostHartmann
Poor baby.
newwoolmonosta
seriously
Wardonk3y
Anxiety cat. New meme template
BillyTater
Me too thanks
chumpacabra
We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold
EndlingGer
If sensory overload was an animal…
WoeToHice
I'm tempted to make it my Zoom background at work.
SirSage
It's the Glorp cat
kraeftig
here if you want a version without the icons on the image:
NapoleonTrousersnakeBonaparte
Turboslacker
Rkfinecake
I said I planned to take this severely autistic kid with me to the car wash and people stopped in their tracks and incredulously asked why I would do that.
StellarJay77
https://media4.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1cjk0c2Uyb3MzeThkZHh6MWY5cXN6dW1qaXR6dzNrOWRhZnEzbW42cCZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/G4Ihli2UThrBS/200w.webp
JimiFloyd2
I spend a lot on drugs to get the same effect as car wash on a cat. me stupid.
wombat1959
Why do people think it's funny to frighten animals?
eronth
I think a lot of times they just see it as befuddlement over anxiety. Unless the cat's in full fear mode, many people struggle to read their cat.
khora
Enrichment.
EU2Screensman
The cat's fine. Chill
Godryc
Ok. I'll bite. What is it about the cat's body language that tells you that the cat is "fine"?
EU2Screensman
He's anxious, sure. Any animal would be in that spot. His ears aren't pinned back, so he's not in fight-or-flight. You can see them wave around a little. There's curiosity there. Also remember that his owner is right next to him, and he's in no physical danger whatsoever.
No living being is gonna be coddled 24/7.
Godryc
An animal does not need pinned ears, physical injury, or full panic to be distressed. Dilated pupils, rigid posture, hypervigilance, and vocalizing are all stress signals, and curiosity can coexist with fear. Avoiding an unnecessary, deliberately stressful situation is not “coddling.” The cat gains nothing from being taken through a car wash for entertainment.
EU2Screensman
What I mean to say is that the level of stress here isn't to the point of actual harm, psychological or otherwise. I've seen much bigger reactions from my own cat from a rainstorm, seeing a big animal outside the window, or from knocking something over and being surprised by the sound it makes. If they ran him through multiple times and he didn't calm down, sure, that'd be cruel. But a one-off where he's still comfortable enough to sit tall and look around is completely fine.