Word Search Fan Finds Hidden Insults In Puzzle

The wordsearch had some unpleasant hidden surprises

Imagine the scenario: Your partner buys you an activity book loosely based on something you love, such as cats.

Maybe he sometimes jokingly refers to you as a 'crazy cat lady', or maybe you proudly refer to yourself as one .

Either way, the book is simply meant to be a bit of light-hearted fun. It CERTAINLY isn't meant to allude to anything more far-reaching, difficult or deeply personal.

But among the puzzles and activities printed in the 'Crazy Cat Lady Coloring Book' was a word search which, on closer inspection, did just that.

Hidden messages

GettyWoman and tabby cat on the couch at home The wordsearch had some unpleasant hidden surprises

Imagine the scenario: Your partner buys you an activity book loosely based on something you love, such as cats.

Maybe he sometimes jokingly refers to you as a 'crazy cat lady', or maybe you proudly refer to yourself as one .

Either way, the book is simply meant to be a bit of light-hearted fun. It CERTAINLY isn't meant to allude to anything more far-reaching, difficult or deeply personal.

But among the puzzles and activities printed in the 'Crazy Cat Lady Coloring Book' was a word search which, on closer inspection, did just that.

Hidden messages

Imgur user, RhodesRhugger captioned a picture of one of the word searches, explaining how he had initially bought his girlfriend the colouring book as a joke.

However, it became clear to both that the "kitty-related" word search was making a very different sort of joke - and one which is no way playful.

Word search got dark

In addition to the sort of words you'd expect, such as 'meow', 'hairball' and 'tabby' were several other words.

Obviously riffing off the 'crazy cat lady' stereotype, are words like the derogatory and sexist 'spinster'.

Other terms, such as 'depression', 'prozac' and 'insanity' go one further, treating mental health issues with a degree of flippancy.

Absolutely nothing wrong with being a cat lady

'Empty life', 'disturbed', 'hermit', 'antisocial' - the word search even has 'Toxoplasmosis' diagonally from the top-left corner - an infection caused by a parasite found in cat faeces.

Whether it was intended to be a joke or not, dropping terms often synonymous with mental health issues in a colouring book which is supposedly poking 'gentle fun' at women who like cats could cause some offence.