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A Russian pet owner has sparked fury by giving his cat a TATTOO to match his own.

Cruel Timur Rimut filmed himself inking the hairless sphinx with a necklace design identical to the tattoo on his chest.

The 24-year-old also branded the animal with the Latin inscription Carpe Diem, which means ‘sieze the day’.

The helpless moggy is shown being sedated before she is permanently marked by her owner, who then brazenly posed for portraits showing off the matching tattoos.

(Image: YouTube) (Image: YouTube)

The video of the sick stunt, which we have not replicated on this website, was posted on YouTube where animal rights activists have slammed the owner’s actions.

One sickened viewer wrote: “Thats horrible !The cat cant speak for himself, it is the same as a father tattooing his baby.

“He can love his cat but that’s stupid and cruel.”

Another fumed: “This is the ultimate in animal cruelty. I can't understand how an animal owner could do this to their pet.

“Totally sickening!"

One enraged user added: “The cat doesn't give its consent to be tattooed. You rob it of its rights by forcing it asleep only so you can decorate it with what you want.

“Cats are not colouring books."

(Image: YouTube) (Image: YouTube) (Image: YouTube) (Image: YouTube) (Image: YouTube)

However, other viewers argued that the act was not as cruel as it appeared.

One user reasoned: “If I was the cat I'd much prefer a tattoo than having an operation..in each the animal feels nothing during the event but the op must be more painful after...in perspective I don't think it's cruel.”

(Image: YouTube)

(Image: YouTube)

Tattoo artist Rimut also has an inking of the cat’s face etched on his bicep.

The pet owner is not the first to have tattooed a sphinx cat in Russia.

Oksana Popova, from Moscow, had her cat sedated for three hours so a tattoo of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen could be inked on its chest.