Anthropologists from the University of Maryland today announced that they have uncovered what they believe to be the earliest known U.S. photo of Bonsai Kitten style cat body modification. The controversial underground practice involves keeping kittens in small containers, usually while sedated, to control their growth and modify their appearance. The practice came

That hat looks ridiculous

under fire from animal rights activists in 2001 after a website entitled Bonsai Kitten brought the practice to the attention of the public. The FBI eventually began a formal investigation which forced many practitioners back underground.

The photo was found by a group studying Appalachian culture of the early 1900's. It was stored among the personal effects of a common mine worker, indicating that Bonsai Kitten may have been practiced much like it is today, in a clandestine fashion away from prying eyes.

"This was a really unexpected find for us," says lead Anthropologist, Dr. Jean Griffin. Of course, we expected to find a lot of banjos and plenty of snake handling images, but we never expected to find anything this culturally significant."

Some in the field are already trying to debunk the Bonsai Kitten theory.

"This is clearly an attempt to attract attention to a struggling program," says John M. Ingham, Chair of the University of Minnesota Anthropology Department. "There is no real indication that this is Bonsai material. Does it really seem out of the question that they were just trying to cook the cat? To assume that one of the poorest, most mistreated groups of peoples in this nation had a secret kitten body modification ritual is to totally overlook that man can't live on opossum alone."