A shadowy figure dressed as the Cat in the Hat allegedly chased a teenage girl through West Kelowna, British Columbia, in late August, as police in several US states separately investigate a disturbing online trend using the children's character to target schools. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say the incident and the social media trend may or may not be linked, but both have raised concern about how a "prank" can cause genuine fear and, potentially, meet the threshold for criminal harassment charges.

The teenage girl was walking at around 9pm on 24 August when the costumed individual began pursuing her; she escaped unharmed and reached home safely, though police have yet to identify the person involved and are appealing for doorbell, security or dashcam footage. Separately, an online trend using edited or AI-generated images of a sinister Cat in the Hat lurking near homes and schools, sometimes naming real students, staff and towns, has prompted investigations, increased patrols and some juvenile detentions across states including California, Florida, Virginia and Texas, with authorities urging the public not to share the posts and to report them instead.