There is discontent in the world of celebrity cats.
On Tuesday, the Instagram account for Sir Sorbet, a shaved Persian rescue cat, posted the following notice:
“I HAVE BEEN STOLEN BY A PERSON WHO WAS SUPPOSEDLY HELPING MY MOM OUT BECAUSE HER DAD DIED!” the post shouted. “SHE WILL NOT GIVE ME BACK TO MY MOMMY!! HELP ME TO RETURN TO HER!!”
Sir Sorbet’s own account only has 1,282 followers, but his claim to fame is that he is the adoptive brother of Sunglasscat, a cat perhaps best known for wearing sunglasses, who has over 34,000 followers and seems to make regular enough appearances to list a booking email in its bio. According to Karen, the woman behind these accounts, fellow cat celebrity mother Ruth (the owner of fellow celebrity Persian cats Duffalo and Fergie La French) offered to watch Sorbet while Karen buried her father who had recently died. But now, Ruth is refusing to return Sorbet home.
According to Ruth, this is an issue of neglect.
“I set about to do a good thing and help a friend in need Saturday before last,” Ruth explained in an Instagram post, entitled “The truth about @sunglasscat and Sorbet.” “I picked up Sorbet and what I found broke my heart. She had left him alone for six days and couldn’t tell me the last time he had eaten. He was in horrible condition.”
Ruth explained that upon seeing his condition, she took Sorbet to the vet:
His body condition was a 3/9—only 2 is lower. You could feel every bone in his body. There were no underlying reasons for him to weigh so little and this did not happen in 6 days.
His fur was matted all over, but especially on his belly.
He had a URI [upper respiratory infection] and could barely keep his eyes open.
Here’s what I witnessed. Sorbet was starved for attention, but as he realized he would not be abandoned again he gained confidence and was less needy. He also gained a pound under my care in a week.
This isn’t the first time Karen has left her cats for long periods, the Instagram post claims.
“I would never purposefully hurt anyone and I have cried every night over this decision. I begged Karen to do the right thing. But in the end I had to do what was right by Sorbet,” the post concludes. “She is trying to destroy my reputation and I’m just trying to do what’s best for her kitty.”
She later posted his veterinary discharge papers:
Reached by phone, the vet Sorbet reportedly visited would not disclose information about the cat to anyone other than his owner.
Ruth’s account is corroborated by an earlier post from @Sunglasscat, in which Karen details how she found Sir Sorbet sick one evening and Ruth stepped in to take him to the vet.
She wrote, “Ruth, you’ve got me crying again as I write this! THANK YOU!”
Commenters have since jumped on Karen; perhaps if she had taken better care of Sir Sorbet, this wouldn’t have happened, commenters claimed. If a cat seems neglected, anyone would have to intervene.
“You have no idea what’s even going on!” Karen wrote back to one such commenter, describing in detail how her cats are cared for. “Get the facts before you judge people! Also, I wouldn’t consider him being left alone when I have someone checking in on him!”
Ruth claims in one of her Instagram posts that she has evidence—texts from Karen and the vet bill—to prove that her motives are true.
Jezebel has reached out to both parties for comment. We will update if we hear back.
Update (5:30 p.m.): Sir Sorbet and Sunglasscat’s accounts have both been made private.
Image via Instagram.