Buchanan police warn about 'Cat in the Hat' social media trend

BUCHANAN, Mich. -- You probably know about "The Cat in the Hat" from the doctor Seuss book. But a sinister version of that is circulating on social media and across the nation, causing enough of a stir to prompt warnings from schools and law enforcement nationwide, and in Michiana.

While some posts may appear to be a prank, the trend has caused some concern, naming specific schools or communities.

In Colorado, a high school student was arrested and released at the end of August after making a post connected to the trend.

The City of Buchanan posted a warning from police about the 'Cat in the Hat' trend circulating online. The trend often shows videos and images showing someone in a Cat in the Hat costume lurking outside homes or schools, usually at night. Some of the videos and images appear to be AI-generated. 

Chief Harvey Burnett of the Buchanan Police Department says this is reminiscent of the clown trend about a decade ago now. 

"So, what we're trying to prevent is, you know, violating people's rights and going on someone's property without permission to do or perpetrate The Cat in a Hat, I guess-- antics," said Burnett. 

He says that could lead to a homeowner prosecuting if there’s damage or perceiving this as a threat–which could escalate the situation. Turning what might just be a prank into a larger issue.

Burnett says there was a report of this trend in Buchanan and local students are talking about it, too.

"So, this is something that just more recently, within the last couple weeks, was brought to our attention by a community member making a complaint, and my officers went out to investigate, couldn't find anything, but then it kind of morphed into students reporting it at school," said Burnett. 

"The concern now is some of these trends are where we talk about this cat and hat is not just showing up, but now they're making threats towards hurting people, threats towards schools, which now starts a whole other process of is there concern for student safety>

Chief Burnett says parents should sit down with their kids–and talk with them about not getting caught up in this–or other social media phenomenon that could end up getting them in trouble.