Katie Price under fire after 'sunburning' cat in new cruelty row

Reality star Katie Price has been blasted for letting one of her £2,000-a-pop bald cats get sunburnt during the last heatwave.

The star – branded a “serial killer” by charity Peta over the deaths of at least eight of her animals – has five sphynxes. In a video, she showed one with a red head and back.

Stroking the cat, she said: “Oh Kevin you have been in the sun today, you have got sun burnt despite us putting sun cream on you… look at his little face.” The caption accompanying the video said: “Trying to keep the cats out of the sun is hard work.”

But Peta’s Elisa Allen claimed the former model had repeatedly ignored advice on pet care. She said: “Anyone who warns Katie not to hurt the animals she takes in might as well be screaming into the wind, for all she seems to care. And here we go again: her cat is sunburnt – something she was likely warned about when acquiring a gimmick cat, bred to look odd and be hairless.”

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Peta says cats with “light or no fur can burn easily, which is just one reason to keep them indoors.” It adds: “If they do go into a secure garden, apply vet-approved sunscreen and ensure they have plenty of shade. Cat guardians must stay alert, if you spot redness, swelling, or signs of infection, seek veterinary care immediately.”

The charity has previously called for an injunction to stop Katie from having animals. It also offered her £5,000 to never acquire more animals, following multiple tragic deaths.

Four dogs – Blade, Queenie, Sharon and Sparkle – were killed by cars near her home. And one of Katie’s horses was hit by a car and killed in 2017 after escaping from a field. In 2020, dog Rolo suffocated in her home after getting stuck in an electric armchair. Katie admitted giving him cannabis oil, but said she was unaware it was illegal to do so without a vet prescription.

The mum-of-five has also announced the death of a chameleon and told how she had to put down another designer cat, Frog. “He had a neurological disease’” she wrote in her memoir. “Within days it had spread through his body. So I cuddled him in my arms and he had to be put to sleep."

In February, she hit back at critics of her record with animals, saying: ‘It’s circumstances that were out of my hands. It’s no lack of me not looking after them. I love animals, I love nurturing.”

Katie’s representatives were contacted for comment.