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Cat Aquariums

Cat Aquariums

21 comments

·September 14, 2025

ilamont

Reminded me of the “bonsai kitten” hoax of the 90s, maybe one of the first mass outrage events on the WWW.

If I recall correctly, it was an MIT student prank. This looks to be an early copy:

https://public.websites.umich.edu/~rsc/Humour/www.bonsaikitt...

danhau

This is exactly the kind of thing the internet was made to share for. Made me lol. But I can‘t help thinking that the cat will eventually get bored of the fish it can‘t eat, and the you end up with a weird looking aquarium.

ngruhn

True :P On the other hand, laser pointers seem endlessly entertaining.

ndsipa_pomu

I've heard that excessive laser pointer chasing is cruel as the cat activates their hunting instinct, but is never able to catch it leading to a build up of frustration.

noir_lord

Place a treat out the way but where you can hit it with the laser, play with them for 10-15 and then point it at the treat and as the cat arrives kill the laser.

latexr

Can confirm, both from experience and consulting with veterinaries. Don’t play with cats with laser pointers. Had one cat who became so obsessed (and we didn’t even play that long) that for years afterwards would react to any light reflection, like the sun bouncing of the phone screen and onto the wall. Thankfully it subsided significantly later in life, but it took a lot of care and vigilance.

Fraterkes

Ive always been taught that fish bowls are cruel because they leave the fish feeling really exposed and stressed. Wouldn’t this create the same effect?

wzdd

Bowls specifically are worse than large, filtered, rectangular aquariums because they're typically too small (causing stress), unfiltered (resulting in waste buildup which causes stress), round (which can act as a lens if the bowl is small, which provides an unnatural, constantly-changing view which causes stress, and which also offers no corner to hide in or rest), and open at the top (so things can fall in, fish can leap out, and cats can attempt to catch them).

petesergeant

If that was true, I feel like it would be surprising that fish towers/elevators/view-tubes often fill with fish.

komali2

I mean, it's a fish, how would we know?

null

[deleted]

yardstick

Can’t the cat just sit directly beside the fish tank and watch?

jakedata

Make the platform removable and it becomes a hat aquarium.

trolleybus

I'm a bit perplexed: the "Bottom Entrance Cat Aquarium" looks like a fucking trap to stun and kill the cat with its own carbon dioxide...

p1mrx

The cat jumps up through a hole in the bottom of the table.

postepowanieadm

Was expecting something more like kitten-bonsai.

moffkalast

Hmm, aren't cat eyes largely unable to focus on objects less than 30cm/12inch away? I wonder if this is more like colourful a blur to them.

AndrewOMartin

Please do not tap on the glass. It distresses the fish, and gives the cat ideas.