Urban Legends

Bonsai Kitten

Bonsai Kitten is a website that claims to provide instructions on how to grow a kitten in a jar, so as to mold the bones of the kitten into the shape of the jar as the cat grows, much like how a plant is shaped. It was made by an university student going by the of Dr. Michael Wong Chang.The website generated furor after members of the complained to organizations, who stated that "while the site's content may be faked, the issue it is campaigning for may create ", according to the Michigan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). Although the website in its most recent form was shut down, it still generates (primarily spam) to shut the site down or complain to its . The website has been thoroughly debunked by and , among other prominent organizations.

Start of the website[]

On October 30, 2000, BonsaiKitten.com was a focal "Cruel Site of the Day" on the website Cruel.com. When this attracted complaints, Cruel.com removed its links to BonsaiKitten.com. Afterwards, however, when links to the BonsaiKitten.com website then spread across the world, many concerned animal lovers sent complaints to the and the. Animal welfare groups made statements saying that Bonsai Kittens were not real. The URL drew criticism, which caused the initial host, MIT, to remove it.

Description of the spoof[]

Square watermelon. The square watermelon was later said by the site creator to be influential in the creation of BonsaiKitten.com. (Square watermelons are grown in jars so as to form a square shape).

BonsaiKitten.com's pictures are the source of its controversy. They show kittens in jars, presented as real examples of the "lost art" as described on the Bonsai Kitten web page. The pictures of the kittens are, of course, naturally created, because a very young cat has supple bones, and can fit into tiny spaces with only a small amount of encouragement. The spoof, according to "Dr. Chang" is that the world increasingly sees nature as a commodity, so such a site may well be in demand. The spoof came to large-scale attention as The Cruel Site of the Day for Dec. 22, 2000, and was continually heavily condemned by most animal rights organizations, and after hundreds of people complained daily to them, they stated that even if Bonsai Kitten was a spoof it "encourages animal cruelty".

The webpage being featured on the cruel.com website was significantly controversial and it was quickly removed. Initial humane society statements decrying the website as "encouraging abuse" caused local investigation, along with an announcement that it was to investigate the . The prosecution of the site by the FBI was welcomed by animal activists, but decried by web authorities. The FBI backed up its investigating of Bonsai Kitten by using a law signed by President Bill Clinton in 1999. The attacking of the BonsaiKitten.com website had the effect of displacing the website, which found a new ISP two more times, before being permanently hosted on servers. Because the website is still kept on some mirrors, it continues[] to receive complaints from animal activists.

The furor over the site triggered by animal rights organizations has been off-set by their continued statements that the site itself is a fake. They have been stating this since 2001.

Controversypost-2000[]

Since 2000, groups such as the and The Humane Society of the United States have received hundreds of complaints. Animal welfare groups declared the site as fake but stated they did believe it was potentially harmful. Other animal rights groups have stated that the site creates an atmosphere of cruelty to animals. There is no evidence to date that the site is anything more than satire. Numerous authorities have advised people to stop sending complaint forms via .

The original bonsaikitten.com is by many sites today. The nature and presentation of the sites content is such that many still take issue with the context of the website. Bonsai Kitten has been further updated from other servers, but infrequently and slowly, with recent additions to the site being research indicating that kitty litter causes . The website states that this enhances the Bonsai Kitten art-form's practical value.

Historyof the controversy[]

The controversy started soon after the creation of the BonsaiKitten.com website. It has continued since and has been the object of numerous spam email pleas. These pleas rely on the audiences, often not knowing English, to spread them.Consequently, these petitions are often spread via the Internet in non-English-speaking countries. Blues News also provided a link, which was shortly thereafter removed from the site, as complaints against the website's existence and its content began to surface.