Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer: Series Review

“Rule zero is: don’t f**k with cats.”

Series description: “A group of online justice seekers track down a guy who posted a video of himself killing kittens.”

This is a true story, and a story that’s actually fairly recent (2010-2014), but one I missed despite its international nature. However, the information that comes out during it has so many twists that I will try, for once, to keep the review relatively spoiler-free, with the exception of the series’ set up.

First, viewers must be warned, the topic is upsetting. The series does not actually show the violent crimes, even though the footage is certainly available – but still, just the idea of them can be disturbing.

Anyway, the series starts with a few people on the internet taking notice of a truly awful video, “1 boy 2 kittens,” in which a young man kills two kittens. Some of these people join together in a Facebook group to determine just who the kitten killer is. Not all of them make logical leaps in determining the kitten murderer – with at least one tragic result – but Deanna Thompson and John Green understand clues, facts and probabilities. Deanna and John feature prominently in the series as they discuss how they worked at determining what was going on and how they tried to reach the appropriate authorities.

For example, in doing their work they focus, not so much on the human in the video, but on the little things in his environment. The blanket, the electrical outlets, and even a vacuum cleaner are all scrutinized. Deanna points out that the internet has groups on everything, and when she wants to learn more about the provenance of the vacuum cleaner, someone in a vacuum cleaner internet forum – yes, there’s a place on the internet dedicated to vacuum cleaners! – easily identifies it.

It’s fascinating to see just how much can be tracked down by internet sleuths. So much information seems to be embedded in a single post. Also, they explain how it is possible to distinguish real photos from others that have been faked – something I hope we can still do later.

And, since 9-11, cameras are practically everywhere. Deanna and John use clues and maps to determine where the perpetrator is located. They go through photos and individual video frames to glean information, then go through street views to explore areas and to compare them to the still shots. The work is tedious, but they are determined.

Besides, people who become serial killers often start by torturing and murdering animals. So the internet sleuths are right to be concerned.

If you did not follow these events as they happened, you may be on the edge of your seat as the series leads us through several surprising twists.

Their work is made easier by the fact that the kitten killer wants attention. Later, they pose an interesting question: people are so addicted to attention these days.

Title musings: Don’t F**k with Cats is the title of the series, and I love it - despite the fact that my computer system would not accept asterisks in the name for my document. Writing out the F**k word can cause more problems, as people know. But as Deanna says, many people on the internet love watching cute cat videos, and the horror and outrage at the murder of the kittens got the group started. Of course, the documentary is about a lot more than cats, but the hook is great. The cats bring back karma on this perp. Besides, naming the series after the kitten killer would just give him more attention, which he does not deserve.

Netflix also did an excellent job with the titles of the three episodes:
Ep 1: "Cat and Mouse" – the cats in the video and the mouse of the computer. Also, who is chasing who?
Ep 2: "Killing for Clicks" – as so often happens, insatiable egos cannot get enough attention.
Ep 3: "Closing the Net" – the internet closes around the perp.
I appreciae how the last word in each episode title reminds us of time spent online.

Bits and pieces

I recently reviewed The Confession Killer. This case is so different in so many ways. First, the real sleuths are completely focused on actual evidence, as opposed to confessions. Second, the Canadian police are about as orthogonal to the Texas Rangers as one could imagine. Polite. Honest. Law-abiding. And modest, without the big white hats. The most significant commonality between the two series and cases is the vanity of the criminals.

The f**k word is used a lot.
Some scenes were shot in France and Germany. I appreciate how Netflix kept the original French and German – something I enjoy about Netflix is how it respects other cultures and languages. Naturally, subtitles are available in the language of your choice.

As AI gets “better,” it may become harder and harder to distinguish reality from fiction. People may need to establish a digital presence in order to make sure one has an alibi to prevent from being falsely accused.

Deanna Thompson is a data analyst for a large casino in Las Vegas and is responsible for the gaming technology. So she’s techno savvy and she understands probabilities.

Serious problem with the mob mentality.

Note the hands in the python video apparently belonged to the owner of the python, and not the perp’s mysterious puppet master. I expect it was spliced in.

Quotes

News anchor: A receptionist opened the blood-soaked box and found a severed foot.

John Green: What kind of individual would think, I’m going to take a vacuum sealed bag and place two kittens in it?

Deanna: They were focusing on the person, which I thought was totally f**king weird, because you can’t find a person - but you can focus on objects in a room, that would tell you where the person is.

Joe Panz from Rescue Ink: You don’t want to become like these people, vicious. You don’t want to become the monster.

John Green: We fucking told them he was going to kill somebody. And nobody believed us.

Romeo Salta: He told me, you look like Michael Douglas.

Overall rating

A relatively short review on my part, not because I didn’t appreciate it, but because I’m trying not to spoil the viewing experience for others. Three and a half out of four very angry, karmic kittens.

Victoria Grossack loves math, birds, Greek mythology, Jane Austen and great storytelling in many forms.