{"id":462765,"date":"2026-09-13T19:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T19:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/462765\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T19:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T19:36:11","slug":"terrifying-cat-in-the-hat-trend-targets-california-school-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/462765\/","title":{"rendered":"Terrifying ‘Cat in the Hat’ trend targets California school kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

A terrifying social media trend involving a \u201cCat in the Hat\u201d<\/a> character has reached California schools.<\/p>\n

Baldwin Park Police Department said Saturday it is investigating concerning social media posts<\/a> related to the viral trend, which referenced schools and named students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are actively reviewing these posts and will investigate any potential threats or criminal activity. Any threat directed toward our schools, students, staff, or community will not be dismissed as a joke or prank,\u201d the Baldwin Park police said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The sinister trend\u00a0is sparking school safety concerns and even leading to arrests of students.<\/p>\n

A figure in a Cat in the Hat costume allegedly chased a teenage girl in West Kelowna, British Columbia on Aug. 24.<\/p>\n

The trend involves AI-generated depictions of someone dressed as the Cat In The Hat \u2014 the dapper, hat-wearing feline agent of chaos from the 1957 Dr. Seuss classic of the same name.<\/p>\n

The original book\u2019s chaos stops at a trashed house. The TikTok version \u2014 inspired by Mike Myers\u2019 2003 movie \u2014 gets sinister, showing the Cat prowling alleys and threatening specific schools or communities, according to Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The dark trend\u00a0is sparking school safety concerns and even leading to the arrests of students responsible for the prank\u2019s proliferation.<\/p>\n

Officials in Baldwin Park are investigating \u201cconcerning\u201d social media posts related to a new trend. Facebook\/@Three Affiliated Tribes Law Enforcement Services<\/p>\n

The trend involves posting pictures and videos of a life-sized version of the Dr. Seuss character lurking outside windows.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, a creep dressed as the Cat in the Hat allegedly chased a teenage girl through a Canadian neighborhood.<\/p>\n

The teen, who eventually made it home safely, was walking near the 2000 block of Shamrock Drive in West Kelowna, British Columbia, around 9 p.m. on Aug. 24 when she was pursued by a figure resembling the children\u2019s character,\u00a0Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Tuesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Spreading from Georgia to Virginia, the dangerous trend has triggered 10 juvenile arrests. Local authorities, including Virginia\u2019s Hanover County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a>, are issuing community warnings after posts explicitly targeted Mechanicsville High School.<\/p>\n

In Kentucky, a single video forced Assumption High School to close its doors<\/a> in late August. Louisville Police determined the threat wasn\u2019t credible, but reiterated its zero-tolerance stance on school safety concerns.<\/p>\n

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