The famous picture of a man holding an 87-pound behemoth cat. One of the first and most celebrated hoax photos to spread by email.
Comments
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
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Noooooooo, please not *Snowball* the monster cat!!
I was so suspicious when the first picture arrived
in my email but after being told the man made an
appearance on a tv show and the cat was real, I was
a believer. Now I see his picture on this site
so whats up with that?
Posted by Dianne on Thu Apr 10, 2003 at 11:00 AM
When the pics of snowball first circulated, I made an examination of the pic and compared it to various animal skeletons. FWIW, I believe the photo is actually that of a real dog with a cat's head superimposed as opposed to a complete forgery. The original work has long since been lost, but I have attached a hacked up few pics to illustrate the basics. Of particular interest is the shape and length of the rib cage and the size and location of the scapula (shoulder blade). The main idea is that the natural joint angles and locations are much more like that of a canine skeleton that that of a feline skeleton.
Posted by Philip on Thu Apr 24, 2003 at 11:00 AM
Philip, I contacted Cordell Hauglie, the guy who created the picture of Snowball (he's the one standing in the picture), and his exact words were, "I can assure you it is a cat -- and what that fellow thought was a rib cage is just plain fat hanging down!" So there you have it.
Posted by Alex in San Diego on Mon Apr 28, 2003 at 11:00 AM
Well darn... But it is good to know the truth behind the tale. Let Cordell know that that is an excellent work up. Looks very realistic. Great site, BTW. I had a lot of fun perusing it.
Posted by Philip on Tue Apr 29, 2003 at 11:00 AM
I liked the story about Snowball the monster cat. When I first saw it I knew it was fake,but thought it was done using something like a Hollywood prop. Any "cat" person would tell you that a cat wont let you hold it in that fashion.
Posted by Jeff S. on Thu May 01, 2003 at 11:00 AM
Regarding Snowball, the monster cat, I've got a cat who is Snowball's double and is overweight at about 15 lbs. My real point is about the comment from Jeff S who says that no cat would let you hold him like that. Jeff, my cat would let me hold him like that - or any other way, just so long as there was food in it for him!
Posted by Dougie on Sat Jun 21, 2003 at 11:00 AM
I saw that cat on Bourkes Backyard here in Australia last year. This is no HOAX!!!! That cat is as real as you or me!
Posted by Anonymous on Sun Jul 06, 2003 at 11:00 AM
This is certainly a hoax IMO. I have great suspicions about cats getting that big, but it may be a real freak of nature. But more practically, the look on that man's face is not that of a person holding 87 pounds worth of cat.
Posted by Anon. on Wed Aug 13, 2003 at 11:00 AM
From a newspaper article, It's unclear if it's the Ottawa Citizen, or The [Portland] Oregonian, but, ""My daughter wanted to send an electronic photo of her cat to her friend. I got a little carried away. When we sent it to her friend, we never dreamed anyone would believe the photo was real." Truth is, he isn't. ... His son held up the cat for one photo, proving you can suspend a cat in that fashion, and Mr. Hauglie stood in the same light for the next shot."
You can find the quote here
http://www.snopes.com/photos/bigcat.asp
Posted by Bob S. Yunkle on Sun Oct 05, 2003 at 11:00 AM
Just look at the hand under the hock. It would mean the man has fingers that are 10 inches long, but Good Job on the alterations.
Posted by Valarie on Mon Oct 20, 2003 at 11:00 AM
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