Photo from fOTOGLIF

Famous person Kim Kardashian tweeted a picture of herself holding a kitten by the scruff of its neck on Monday, causing the animal loving world to unsheath its claws. Kardashian, famous for posing for Playboy, starring in reality television, and modeling clothing designed by Travis Barker, was in Australia for a photo shoot when the infamous kitten-holding photo was taken. Kardashian was quick to issue a statement, saying, “I love animals and would never do anything to harm any animals.”

The controversy had to do with the size and age of the kitten in the photo shoot. While mother cats routinely pick up their very young kittens by the scruff of their neck to move them, with larger kittens and cats, support of cat’s rear end is necessary. And since humans have alternative ways of picking up cats and kittens, the “scruff of the neck” hold is almost always unnecessary for humans to use.

The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals L.A. criticized the picture, fearing it could lead Kardashian’s fans to mistreat animals since Kardashian is, believe it or not, a role model for young people. Kardashian insisted later that a veterinarian showed her how to pick up the kitty and that the vet and the cat’s owner were on the set during the shoot.