back in the 90s there was a fad of people buying cats that were stuffed into jars or bottles?

Question

And the cats had IVs to feed them and I was talking to someone who told me about this and I didn't believe him so just curious if any one ever heard of this.

Answer 1

It was another internet hoax. read the disclaimer at bottom.

Order yours Today before the big rush.


For centuries, people in the West have marveled at the delicate beauty produced by Oriental artists and sculptors. From gardening to tattooing to dance and martial arts, these craftsmen have enthralled us with complex forms and simplistic perfection. One of the most fascinating of the visual techniques to emerge from this highly cultured region is the Oriental art of miniature sculpture. Who has not been stricken with the expressive grace of Japanese Bonsai? Though once the sole province of Bonsai masters within Japan, Bonsai plants have been available to fortunate consumers throughout the world for some time. With this in mind, we are proud to now offer to you the animal complement of this art form; the Bonsai Kitten. A kitty without the litter in a globe!
Notice the splendid use of the tail to form a hanger. Imagine how this will look gracing your yule tide tree. Kids love to watch em blink when they poke at them. And no mess to clean up! The ornament is its' own kitty litter box. See the link below to see how master craftsmen accomplished this.
Order NOW, before our supply of kittens runs out. Only $149.95!

Shape your own Bonsai Kitten - Click to Start a new Hobby!

Obligatory Disclaimer: For entertainment purposes only! Not recommended for persons under the age of 18, those with an IQ below 100, the gullible, those lacking a sense of humor, and above all, those who believe in Santa Clause. (It must be noted that Santa himself got quite a chuckle out of it however).
Further, This ad is stictly bogus. All checks and money orders will be donated to the local pet cemetary, who, btw have yet to register any complaints of abuse or unusual activities towards cats, kittens, deformed trees, LongNecks, or clueless retards who believe this...

and here you go ............................

Bonsai Kittens Controversy
Still Going
The Bonsai Kittens Website controversy rages on, even after several site shutdowns. In fact, even after several years, several investigations including one by the FBI, and widespread press coverage, emails on the subject are still circulating.

Before we continue, let's stop the flood of emails ahead of time - as a cat lover, I don't like the fact that the Bonsai Kitten (BK) website ever appeared.


In case you don't know what I'm talking about, the BK website was started by an MIT student, and has been called one of the greatest college pranks of all time. The student, who used an assumed name, claims he never thought that cat lovers, and animal lovers in general, would ever raise a fuss about it. But animal lovers couldn't stand by and allow a website that depicted what amounted to the torturing of kittens to remain on the Internet.

The website is, as everyone should know by now, a hoax. The FBI investigated and found no evidence of cruelty to the cats, who were pictured living inside, and supposedly conformed to the shape of, glass jars. The images were definitely altered so as to seem as though the bonsai kittens were imprisoned inside the jars.



So, if it's a hoax, and I'm against its existence, why write about it?

Well, it turns out that every month, people are still performing searches on terms like bonsai kitten photos, and bonsai kittens. Every month in fact, even searches with mispellings such as bonzi kittens and bonzai kittens are being logged with great frequency.

The correct term is bonsai kitten. This is an obvious reference to the Japanese tradition of bonsai, where nature is shaped, manipulated and miniaturized in the form of a tree.

The Bonsai Kittens website has made the news many times, and there are articles about it on wired.com, the ASPCA website, and about.com mentions it in more than one section.

Besides that, and the fact that other respected websites such as The Humane Society of the United States have pages devoted to the subject, there's a four part answer to that question.




It's a good excuse to raise awareness about animal cruelty.

Some people did not realize it was a hoax, even more than a year after it was exposed as such. Some of these people were even circulating, via email, a "petition" to get the website removed from the Internet. That email claimed that cats were really being tortured, and that something needed to be done. As you can tell, I'm obviously against all forms of animal cruelty (after all, I didn't start www.cat-lovers-only.com because I don't like animals, right?). But here's the problem - spreading rumor and making false accusations takes time and money away from investigations of real animal cruelty. Like, for example, people who keep 20 cats and 10 dogs in a tiny house, and don't clean up after them or give them the right food or veterinary care.

Sending "chain letter type" emails to everyone on your mailing list prior to checking the facts eats up valuable bandwidth, encourages SPAM, and contributes to the overall reputation of the Internet as being less than professional.

The BK website does exist, and we can't deny that. We also can't deny that despite the fact that the website has been forced to shutdown and move hosts several times, that it may never go away. We also have to realize that thousands of people have seen, and continue to look for, information and pictures on this most controversial subject.
In addition, many people, including some who have publicly stated that they like cats, have BK mirror sites, so you'd have to shut them all down in order to get rid of it completely.
There have been endless email debates over this, including some that I have been involved in, and I think it has pretty much run its course. For that reason I will not debate this issue via email as I simply do not have the time.

The bottom line?

While the Bonsai Kittens website is a hoax, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on the fact that real animal cruelty does exist.

Animal cruelty must be stopped. I urge you to do what you can and take a look at the following resources to learn more...

Humane Society Animal Cruelty Information Page

Bonsai Kittens Website Information from the ASPCA

Stop Animal Cruelty at freeanimals.org

Answer 2

Urban myth! Sheesh, will this EVER quit making the rounds? You'd think the internet would help squash these things faster.

A big one BEFORE the internet existed: A cousin of a guy I worked with picked up a stray dog while vactioning in Florida,blah,blah,blah, the vet told him it was a Cuban RAT! Or some variation.

Answer 3

that was a classic JOKE
very dry and very British
nothing more
I love animals as much as the next person
but really
to the answering folk on here who made a big tirade
there are bigger issues to fight for, than what is obviously a joke or hoax. If it doesn't seem humorous to you, that's your opinion and you shouldn't go on a crusade. if you want to accomplish something good, try impeaching Bush and Cheney.

Answer 4

I think this was something created by a computer (cats in different shapes, like bonsai, who had grown in jars). It is horrible, but I think it was not true, it was created in Photoshop and put on the Internet by some perverts.

Answer 5

This was a hoax perpetrated by someone in Japan, exposed quickly, but the myth persists. The photos were done with digital image manipulation and retouching.

Answer 6

never heard of this, and that is cruelty!

I was at Hallmark over the weekend and they have these dogs or cats that were curled up in a pet bed looks to be sleeping and it even looks like they are breathing. that is weird and cool!

Answer 7

i once saw a pic of a cat being stuffed into a jar. i dont know whether it was done by computer or for real.

Answer 8

The website reared its ugly head last year, and was called Bonsai Kitten. It was a hoax.

Answer 9

Urban legend. It's not true, and I hope to God that no one else took advantage of that story to do the REAL thing. X-P

Answer 10

I've heard of it. I also heard it was fake, but I'm sure someone out there tried it. It's cruel. Simply cruel.