‘Influencer’ Starts Cat Fight with West Michigan Shelter Over $900 Adoption Fee
Influencers can be a really helpful part of the social media landscape, because they tend to try and do things before anyone else, leaving you with an idea of what you're getting into. But, just because you have 3 million followers on a social media platform, doesn't mean you're instantly an authority on anything.
But one West Michigan TikToker recently picked a 'cat fight' with a Muskegon area animal rescue after claiming fraud over what they want to charge for adoption fees on one specific cat.
Chloe Mitchell is an Aquinas College student originally from Spring Lake, and she has over three million followers on her TikTok account.
Chloe claimed in series of videos that she visited six shelters in West Michigan trying to find the perfect cat to adopt before landing at the Noah Project. But, she felt scammed due to the $900 price tag that she saw on the 'cat of her dreams'.
@chloevmitchell Replying to @kaitlyn_in_michigan I NEED HER. #cat #foryou #rescue #dog #pet #fypシ ♬ Acoustic Folk Instrumental - Yunusta
She originally posted a reply to one of her commenters, throwing shade at the idea of paying that much for the cat.
@chloevmitchell Replying to @lacedupcloset I CANNOT LEAVE HER THERE…but $900!!? #cat #foryou #rescue #dogperson #fypシ #pov ♬ original sound - chloe
Many commenters on the video above said things like "That's definitely not an Savannah Cat", fueling the fire of claims of fraud. Meanwhile, Chloe replied to one comment saying "That's not what their fancy paperwork says".
The Noah Project however, defends their price point saying that this rare breed of cat requires extra care and this specific cat has medical issues, causing him to be a little more pricey than their average adoption. And that since they're a non-profit, they have to get that re-couped somewhere.
And even after all of the complaining, Chloe ended up adopting the cat shortly afterwards.
@chloevmitchell Replying to @kayy.leighh02 I have NO IDEA what I am doing #cat #fypシ #rescue #adoptdontshop #foryou #newmom ♬ love nwantinti (ah ah ah) - CKay
I'm not sure Chloe's approach to "influencing" is helpful to our community, especially after her attacks on the shelter caused the countless calls and harassment by strangers outside of West Michigan.
This non-profit no-kill shelter didn't deserve the heat from strangers that they got. She even later posted a video, gloating about the fact that she sent an army of anonymous people to harass the shelter, although she had already agreed to adopt the cat for the fee they were asking.
@chloevmitchell Mama bear isn’t messing around #cat #adoptdontshop #catsoftiktok #foryou #rescue #fypシ ♬ Powerful songs like action movie music - Tansa
If there is a silver lining to this story, at least this cat got a forever home. So we can call that a small victory for what it is. But, it still puts a bad taste in my mouth that she found joy in harassing a small non-profit she didn't agree with, instead of using her platform to uplift one she did.