BURSTAuthorities are asking students, parents and Fort St. James community members to exercise caution as a viral “Cat in the Hat” trend reaches the small northern B.C. town.
A Fort St. James parent alerted community members after finding her son targeted by the trend on social media. This is one of the first reported instances of this trend in Canada.
Fort St. James RCMP told Caledonia Courier they are aware of the incident after it was brought to their attention. Police said the situation does not currently appear to involve criminal activity, but urged anyone who notices suspicious activity, property damage or an escalation to report it immediately.
The trend is part of a larger global phenomenon that has caused disturbances in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States, targeting children with threatening content and triggering investigations by law enforcement agencies in those countries.
The trend takes the familiar Cat in the Hat character created by Dr. Seuss and transforms it into something resembling a horror character or serial killer. Much of the content, created using artificial intelligence, shows the sinister cat lurking outside homes, driveways, schools and neighbourhoods at night.
Earlier this month, similar hoax/prank posts triggered investigations in the U.S. after authorities in Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas said the content constituted threats, directly naming schools and students.
The TikTok post named the student and Fort St. James, with the caption “Coming for all of you guys.” Another post read, “If you want to see the cat in the hat come to the high school.”
Several other students were also tagged in the post. The posts are linked to an account called “catinthehatfortstjames,” which has 122 followers.
School District 91 addressed the matter in a post Sept. 6, saying it has been aware of the “Cat in the Hat” posts along with Safer Schools Together and the Ministry of Education and Child Care.
“While each such incident will be thoroughly investigated, we urge community members to report these posts to law enforcement, principals, and the social media sites where they appear,” SD91 said.
Authorities are also asking students, parents and community members not to repost any photos or videos connected to the trend.
Students and parents can use the B.C. government’s Report It tool to anonymously report worrisome behaviour, threats or harassment without giving their name. Reports go directly to safe school co-ordinators in the student’s school district for follow-up.
Parents can also report incidents directly to their local school and police, and are urged to report the account or post to the relevant social media platform for a takedown.