# Bonsai Cats **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959 "2005-09-10T05:36:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mustknow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Mustknow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mustknow)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/1 "2005-09-10T05:36:12Z")
Are there really Bonsai Cats? I think it must be a sick joke, but I’ve been unable to come up with anything conclusive. Thank you for your help. ---
**Author:** ![Donovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@Donovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donovan)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/2 "2005-09-10T05:39:55Z")
If you are talking about the site I think youare ([www.bonsaikitten.com](http://www.bonsaikitten.com)), its a joke. > **[Are 'Bonsai Kittens' Real?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bonsai-kittens/)** > > Does a website provide information and equipment for making 'bonsai kittens'? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/3 "2005-09-10T05:44:53Z")
[Yes, it is merely a joke site.](http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/bonsai.asp) Once you realize it’s all fake, with photoshopped images and such, it’s actually a pretty funny site. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/4 "2005-09-10T12:18:50Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Once you realize it’s all fake, with photoshopped images and such, it’s actually a pretty funny site. I don’t see any photoshopping, just unaltered images of cats being shoved into glass containers, which I find kind of funny in and of itself. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/5 "2005-09-10T12:54:26Z")
For such an obvious joke, the really funny part is just how many people protested what _they_ thought was a real thing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/6 "2005-09-10T17:31:20Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > I don’t see any photoshopping, just unaltered images of cats being shoved into glass containers, which I find kind of funny in and of itself. Huh? Are you trying to tell me you thought that someone actually shoved a small kitten into a glass jar just to take pictures? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/7 "2005-09-10T17:34:34Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Huh? Are you trying to tell me you thought that someone actually shoved a small kitten into a glass jar just to take pictures? No, but having been around kitties, I know they themselves will crawl into jars, bottles, anything. They’re weird like that…they’ll crawl through the tiniest holes if their heads can fit. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/8 "2005-09-10T19:57:36Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Huh? Are you trying to tell me you thought that someone actually shoved a small kitten into a glass jar just to take pictures? Snopes says “There are plenty of pictures of kittens in jars which can comfortably accommodate them (cats are quite elastic and can fit into very small spaces without discomfort), but there are no photographs of molded kittens on display.” ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/9 "2005-09-10T20:45:53Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > They’re weird like that…they’ll crawl through the tiniest holes if their heads can fit. True, one of ours put her head through a plastic mesh fence only to find her ears were streamlined for forward and not backward motion, I had to (carefully) cut her out :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/10 "2005-09-10T21:29:45Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Huh? Are you trying to tell me you thought that someone actually shoved a small kitten into a glass jar just to take pictures? Uh, yes. Shove a kitten into a glass jar, snap a photo, reward the kitten with some anchovies… big deal. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/11 "2005-09-10T22:41:52Z")
A kitten making a glass of itself? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/12 "2005-09-11T00:56:48Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > True, one of ours put her head through a plastic mesh fence only to find her ears were streamlined for forward and not backward motion, I had to (carefully) cut her out :smack: Yeah, then they cry! Meow! Meow! Like it’s somehow \*your \* fault. ---
**Author:** ![Sequent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Sequent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sequent)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/13 "2005-09-11T02:38:09Z")
Like you’d even need to coax the kitty. Put a glass jar (hell, put anything) in front of a kitty and sit back and watch the fascination. Kitty will walk in, paw the glass, and then rub its cheek against the side. Click! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonsai-cats/320959/14 "2005-09-11T02:54:37Z")
Oh, well if you mean a cat crawling into the jar yeah, they’ll do that. I was talking about some of the more extreme pictures, where the cat was wedged into a vessel far too small.