# Could I make a bonsai kitten? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 30, 2002, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-a-bonsai-kitten/126258 "2002-08-30T07:42:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2002, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-a-bonsai-kitten/126258/1 "2002-08-30T07:42:03Z")
There’s a website out there, which is supposed to be a joke, which talks about making “bonsai kittens”. Which got me wondering: What would happen if someone attempted that in real life? Could you grow an animal to be in the shape of the container it’s raised in ? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2002, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-a-bonsai-kitten/126258/2 "2002-08-30T09:38:44Z")
There was a site debunking the bonsai kitten/puppy sites. Basically it said that the animal would die after a short time. It went into the reason but I forgot it. I volunteer for an animal shelter and we have gotten complaints about such web sites. ---
**Author:** ![Erroneous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71c47a/32.png) [@Erroneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erroneous)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2002, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-a-bonsai-kitten/126258/3 "2002-08-30T12:26:33Z")
Well, you can grow part of an animal to take the shape of its container, at least; Chinese foot-binding, certain African tribes’ neck-lengthening rings, and the skull binding / lengthening known to have been practiced in several ancient cultures all come to mind. Any kind of ‘shaping’ much more comprehensive than these examples probably wouldn’t work too well for complex, bony animals. Might be possible with something like worms, or other maleable critters, but I dunno if anyone’s actually tried something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2002, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-a-bonsai-kitten/126258/4 "2002-08-30T14:44:39Z")
You could probably use some sort of steroid treatments to dwarf kitties. However, the result would be more like an east-german gymnast kitty than a Bonsai kitty. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2002, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-a-bonsai-kitten/126258/5 "2002-08-30T14:55:42Z")
You could probably use some sort of steroid treatments to dwarf kitties. However, the result would be more like an east-german gymnast kitty than a Bonsai kitty. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2002, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-a-bonsai-kitten/126258/6 "2002-08-30T15:02:30Z")
You could probably use some sort of steroid treatments to dwarf kitties. However, the result would be more like an east-german gymnast kitty than a Bonsai kitty. ---
**Author:** ![Threadkiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@Threadkiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Threadkiller)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2002, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-a-bonsai-kitten/126258/7 "2002-08-30T15:36:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Erroneous \* > Well, you can grow part of an animal to take the shape of its container, at least; Chinese foot-binding, certain African tribes’ neck-lengthening rings, and the skull binding / lengthening known to have been practiced in several ancient cultures all come to mind. I have a niece who was born with a slightly misshapen head. This was corrected by having her wear a series of helmets during infancy. This was 20+ years ago and I don’t know where the technology has gone since then. ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-a-bonsai-kitten/126258/8 "2002-08-30T20:23:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Erroneous \* > \*\*certain African tribes’ neck-lengthening rings, \*\* This is just a nitpick/FYI, I don’t think that the neck is actually lengthened, even though it appears that way. I believe the rings push down the bones (clavicle?).