Tattooed Mexican Cat Seeks New Home After Life Behind Bars

Reuters
By Reuters
February 23, 2023Americas
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Tattooed Mexican Cat Seeks New Home After Life Behind Bars
Veterinary doctor Giselle Rubio shows a Sphynx cat to announce that the cat is available for adoption in an animal shelter, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Feb. 21, 2023. (Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters)

MEXICO CITY—Wanted: A new home for a one-of-a-kind feline in Mexico.

The Sphynx cat, which doesn’t yet have a name, is about 1 year old and has spent weeks in the Mexican city of Juarez under the care of animal rescue workers after police found him in a prison, where it suffered mistreatment at the hands of a criminal gang.

Gang members even tattooed the cat’s furless skin.

The cat’s tattoos decorate both sides of its slender, grey body, and include the phrase “Made in Mexico.”

Authorities say they are now looking for the right family to take the cat, which is not for sale, into their home.

“The cat is very sociable, and is in great shape, with no infections,” Cesar Rene Diaz, ecology director for the city of Juarez, told Reuters.

A committee of city authorities will make the final decision about the adoption before presenting the cat to its new family in a ceremony on March 1.