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'I've spent £20k on my pussies!'

Monday 08 September 2008

Every night, kelly hampton cooks her seven hairless Sphynx cats a roast chicken, bathes them, dresses them in pyjamas and tucks them into their four-poster bed.

Meanwhile her long-suffering husband Toby, 34, a window fitter, is left to prepare dinner for himself and their two children, Jake, six, and Elle-May, four.

Kelly says: “Of course, my kids come first, but the cats are easier to please, more affectionate and won’t grow up and move away. And they definitely come before my husband – he doesn’t mind though.”

Unemployed Kelly first bought Shadow four years ago. Zippy, Maisy, Tabatha, Puzzle, Tango, and Maddy have all followed, costing a whopping £1,000 a time because they are such a rare breed.

Now, she spends her life tending to their every need. She cooks them fresh salmon or tuna for breakfast, then takes them for a walk either on a lead or in a special cat buggy, similar to a child’s pushchair. She’ll also stop in at the local pub, and order them half a pint of milk each.

But it’s at night that events take a more peculiar twist. Kelly bathes each cat in the bath, before dressing them in specially designed cat outfits, including pink hoodies and chenille jumpers that she buys on eBay. “I pat them dry, cuddle them, put them in their bed clothes and kiss them goodnight,” she says.

Although dressing animals is considered cruel by animal welfare experts, Kelly is defiant. “You wouldn’t send a newborn out with no clothes on and I think it’s the same thing – they shiver when it’s chilly.”

Kelly, 31, has even redesigned the upstairs of her four-bedroom home in Trowbridge, Wilts, to accommodate her pets. They have a specially decorated room complete with a gold four-poster bed, animal-print sheets and cuddly toys.

Over the last few years, Kelly’s spent around £20,000 of Toby’s earnings on her pampered pussies – their food alone costs over £2,000 a year.

Toby says: “She definitely spends more time with them than me. But I don’t mind – even though they do cost a fortune. Last year I wanted a new car, but I had to put it on hold because the cats needed things.”

Kelly adds: “I don’t believe my kids are missing out. At weekends, we tend to do things the cats can be part of – like going to the beach – as I don’t like to leave them for more than five hours at any one time. But the kids understand.
“I love the attention I get when people see the cats on their leads. I’ve never had any bad comments, only strange looks!”

An RSPCA spokesman said: “Dressing up animals has the potential to cause them significant stress. We advise against it.”

Words by Lisa Woollard

See Kelly on First Cut: Pussies Galore, Friday 12 September, 7.35pm, C4