Operation Cat Nip Confusion

In August 2011, hundreds of cats were rescued during a hoarding case, and then a team of veterinary students volunteered their time to spay and neuter the cats in order to prepare them for adoption.

A photo of this mass spaying/neutering event (named Operation Cat Nip) ran in the Gainesville Sun.


But about a year later that same photo began appearing on Twitter, stripped of any explanatory context, and accompanied by the caption: "Retweet if you say NO to animal testing."

The photo also had a watermark added, "Cause Animale Nord,"which is the name of a French animal welfare society.


Thousands of people obediently retweeted the photo, many of them adding messages expressing their disgust and disapproval, unaware that the photo had nothing to do with animal testing.

Like many viral photo fakes, this one has gone through cycles of being debunked, disappearing for a while, and then suddenly resurging in popularity. Right now, it's again in a popular phase.

Animals Photos

Posted on Fri Feb 28, 2014


Comments

And, predictably, supported by an animal "welfare" group. These people are morons, who do more harm than good. Particularly those wanting to "protect" house cats, one of the greatest dangers to real wildlife in and near our urban areas.
Posted by Richard Bos  on  Sat Mar 01, 2014  at  06:28 AM
The net is and will always be rife with those who re-post 'stories' without any forethought as the story conforms with their beliefs.
Posted by Mr R  on  Mon Mar 03, 2014  at  04:31 AM
As with most subject matter on the internet Animal issues are not immune to these kind of sensationalist stories because there are certain individuals who suffer attention deficit disorders who spread these misleading stories,it is the same with the stories of 'liking' Facebook images of children in hospital beds suffering from Cancer or having been beaten,If the image is 'liked' enough,then the message promises Facebook will donate xxxx amount of cash.Or they are spread by people who run Facebook pages and require more 'likes' (More likes a page has =More money they can sell the page for to a commercial organisation,Yes,that is how that company you never heard of now shows in your news feed 😉 )
Most people legitimately involved in Animal causes will check out the authenticity of stories first and will not circulate misleading or incorrect information,But sadly,most of these images and stories are shared by people who are ignorant of these facts and share them to others because they are shocking,Anyone involved in Animal Welfare can see at a glance what this photo is showing,People who don't,would innocently share it believing this is Animal testing. 😉
Posted by KnightCats  on  Tue Jun 03, 2014  at  01:53 PM
I would also like to add,Richard Bos you are sadly one of those misinformed people.You believe Cats are 'the greatest danger to wildlife' and are yourself spreading misinformation,I am duty bound to correct your misinformation.The largest threat to Wildlife,In the UK,USA and Globally is Habitat destruction,Caused by mans encroachment into their habitat and thus depriving Wildlife of their fundamental right on this Earth.A place to exist.In the skies of the USA alone more birds are killed by birdstrike ,600 million (Birds hitting windows/Planes/motor vehicles) Than the combined number of all other causes,Cats in the US are estimated to be the cause of approximately 60 million.So next time you decide to speak in public,please make sure of your facts because your last comment made you sound like an imbecile. 😊
Posted by KnightCats  on  Tue Jun 03, 2014  at  02:09 PM
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