What began as a puerile joke has turned into an Internet cause celebre. Animal welfare advocates decry it and defenders of free speech, well ... defend it. By David Emery.

A spoof website devoted to 'growing' kittens in glass jars is under investigation by the FBI.

Dedicated to preserving the long lost art of body modification in housepets.

Bulletin board of postings by outraged cat lovers.

Black humor, parody, or satire, or a gross desecration to the principles of free speech? By Franny Syufy.

A call for action for removal of the web site Bonsai Kitten from MIT servers. By Franny Syufy.

The Bonsai Kitten Wars are in full swing as both sides take pot-shots at the other. (First in a four-part series.) By Franny Syufy.

FBI agents have so much free time on their hands that now they're targeting humorous Web sites that are mean to cats. By J.D. Tuccille.

The cruel site for December 22, 2000. Dozens of related Web links.

Includes on-line petition to have Bonsai Kitten sites taken off-line.

Release from the Humane Society of the US advising people not to e-mail the webmaster, but to complain to hosting ISPs.

The Bonsai Kitten website was forced to close down after some high profile organizations decided to believe someone was actually growing kittens inside glass jars.

Review of several dark websites including Bonsai Kitten. By Gail Cetnar.

"Though acknowledging this site is a joke and no harm to animals actually occured, PETA encourages people who care about animals to complain to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center of the FBI." [LawMeme]

Count the FBI among the many visitors to bonsaikitten.com who are anything but amused at the descriptions of how to use muscle relaxant, feeding tubes and Klein bottles to shape a perfect Bonsai Cat.

Hardly a week goes by without computer games being blamed for turning people into psychopathic killers, so it was strangely reassuring to see some of these dangerous maniacs up in arms over the spoof Bonsai Kitten web site. By Andrew Smith.

The FBI is reported to be investigating BonsaiKitten.com, the spoof Web site which has got animal lovers and anti-cruelty campaigners in uproar. By Andrew Smith.

RSPCA's position on the Bonsai Kitten website.

Another not particularly funny Web site has been taken too seriously by an advocacy group we would have thought had better things to do.

News and discussion forum.

Whether you're a tortured kitty or an abused child, a moral and upright and increasingly stupid nation stands ready to defend you, despite the small fact that you don't actually exist.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York has determined that a Web site showing kittens being stuffed into glass containers is only a joke. But the only people who seem to be laughing are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology students who created it. By Jennifer Jacobson.

Is someone making 'bonsai kittens'?

She doesn't believe there is such a thing as bonsai kittens, or even that the MIT graduate students behind the Web site meant to do anything but make a "sick joke." But as president of Hugs for Homeless Animals, she stands by the e-campaign to shut it down, and she's hoping the FBI will take action. By Janet Kornblum.

A website devoted to squishing kittens into Mason jars is one of two things: A trenchant parody designed to provoke, or a nefarious kitty-mutilation scheme that must be stopped, and probably outlawed. By Declan McCullagh.