Feline cramped: Photos of a jarred cat went viral after Taiwanese college student Kiki Lin uploaded them on her Facebook account on December 23. Photo: China Times

Couldn't keep a lid on it: Lin poses for a photo with her cat and the plastic jar (complete with air holes) during an interview on December 24. Photo: China Times

Netizens are accusing a Taiwanese university student of animal abuse after discovering photos of her pet cat squeezed into a plastic jar uploaded on her Facebook account.

Kiki Lin, an English major at Providence University in Taichung, Taiwan, posted photos on Facebook December 23 that showed her cat crammed into a plastic jar. The photo captions read "Canned Cat, punishment for misbehaving."

Within hours of the photos being uploaded, more than 2,200 netizens wrote posts accusing Lin of animal abuse, while others conducted a human flesh search of Lin.

Lin later deleted the photos and explained the "punishment" was "just a joke."

"The cat is my baby and I want to take it with me everywhere. The jar is transparent so it can see out, and I even poked some air holes. I know I was wrong and will use a cat cage instead," Lin wrote in her response.

According to Chang Wen-cheng, an official at the Taichung City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office, they had reported the incident to police and that Lin could face detention or fines for animal cruelty.

Lin denied any wrongdoing and said she would defend herself since she was minoring in law.

China Times 

Web Editor: liyingxa@globaltimes.com.cn