For many years, conspiracy theorists have theorized on and on about birds–specifically pigeons and how they are drones designed by the government to spy on civilians. But there is a new conspiracy in town that is gaining traction online, cats aren’t real.

This theory is similar to the bird theory because it’s modeled after it. The claim is that cats aren’t real but instead are drones created for surveillance. 

Ever wonder why your cat is always gone? Well, it’s sending its collected spy data back to government officials. Cats can sleep up to 20 hours per day, which causes believers to theorize that they are using that time to “recharge” after spending a whole day spying on their humans. Even their glowing green or yellow eyes at night are surveillance cameras, and their whiskers are vibration sensors that are conveniently placed on their face to collect data. 

Cat lovers, however, strongly reject this theory. One Reddit user in disagreement stated that cats were sent here by the aliens in order to protect us from the drones. That’s the reason why cats attack birds at any opportunity. 

“No, I know what’s happening here, the birds are possessing the cats and controlling their brain patterns,” one Reddit user wrote. “It’s well known that cats contribute to bird extinction so we just don’t realize it’s a parasite drone taking over a cats body.” 

However, this so-called “conspiracy theory” is still alive and thriving on the internet. On a multitude of websites you can find people backing up the theory, some even going as far to spy on their own cats in order to find out the truth.  

Similarly to the bird theory, many view this theory on cats as an early sign of craziness. But they may simply be in denial.