Snowball, the Giant Mutant Cat of Ontario - Analysis

More of this Feature • Part 1: The Story • Part 2: The Photo • Update: 'Cat Man' Revealed

Join the Discussion "I think the man in the picture is just holding the cat out at arm's length toward the camera. He is not a midget, and the cat is not a giant or a mountain lion - just a normal cat (well, maybe a fat cat)." - LLAMAS30

From Other Guides • About Cats

Comments: Most Canadians already get the joke, presumably, so, for the benefit of everyone else in the world, here's what you need to know: Chalk River, where Rodger Degagne's elephantine cat was supposedly reared, is the site of a nuclear research facility run by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.

The premise, then, is that 87-pound "Snowball" is the mutant offspring of parents exposed to DNA-garbling atomic radiation.

You can believe this if you choose, but be prepared to endure some eyeball rolling if you admit it to anyone else.

Nuclear facility is still active

Contrary to what is claimed in the email, the "old labs" at Chalk River were never abandoned. Not only is there still an active nuclear reactor onsite, two more are currently under construction. Bemused AECL spokesman Larry Shewchuk told reporters recently that a search of the company's files discovered no record of a "Rodger Degagne" ever working at the facility. Granted, the Ottawa Citizen has managed, against all odds, to track down an actual cat owner named Roger DeGagne (note the slight difference in spelling), living two hours away in Aylmer, Quebec - but the real Mr. DeGagne, 84, insists his cat is of normal proportions and has always answered to the name Chanel.

Though the "Snowball" story has been circulating since March 2001, the photo accompanying it is at least a year older, first sighted on the Web around April 2000. Many questions have been raised about its authenticity. For example:

1. It's an impressive feat for any average adult male to "curl" a hundred pounds while weightlifting, yet this guy, "Roger," appears to be wielding an 87-pound cat as if it were a ball of fluff.
2. No normal, live animal -- even a completely docile one -- should appear so stiff and lifeless when held this way. Is Snowball stuffed?
3. The animal has all the appearance of a very large toy. For that matter, so does "Roger."
4. In blow-ups published on Urban Legend Zeitgeist, evidence of photo manipulation is clearly visible.
5. The actual Guinness World Record holder (1997) for "longest cat" is 98-pound "Snowbie" of Ellon, Scotland, who measures 41 inches from nose to tail (in marked contrast to Snowball's alleged 69-inch length).

Update: 'Cat Man' Revealed! - Photo creator pleads guilty... to trying to make his daughter laugh

Update: 'Tourist Guy' Parody - Snowball makes a final appearance atop the doomed World Trade Center, Sept. 2001

Sources and further reading:

• "Search Continues for Fat Cat." North Renfrew Times, 1 May 2001.
• "U.S. TV Networks Stalk Region for Monster Cat." Ottawa Citizen, 7 May 2001.
• "Giant Atomic Mutant Cat from Canada." Urban Legend Zeitgeist, May 2001.

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