Au, How Cute: Cats for Gold Becomes Latest Internet Cat Meme

Cats For Gold, the latest one-stop parody site, promises to take in your old gold, melt it down into cats, and send you cats in exchange for your gold. The website, located at CatsForGold.com, is a direct parody of the "as seen on TV" Cash 4 Gold spots. "Turn your glitter into litter," touts the Cats For Gold website, which promises 25% more cats than leading refineries.

How It Works
According to Cats For Gold, you send in your gold to be melted down into 100% pure feline and then they will ship you a brand-new cat. In reality, you would likely get a better return on your investment by sending your gold to CatsForGold instead of Cash4Gold. An ex-employee of Cash4Gold is being sued for blowing the whistle on the company's questionable practices, as reported by Consumerist.

Another Single Serving Website
CatsForGold.com is just the latest in a series of static "single serving" websites with just one single joke or message. Examples of other "single serving" websites are "What Color Is The Empire State Building?" and "Is It Christmas?" The Cats For Gold phenomenon also capitalizes on the internet cat meme, joining the ranks of favorites like lolcats, I Can Has Cheezburger, keyboard cat, ceiling cat, and NEDM cat.

Which Site Is The Parody?
One look at the front page of Cash4Gold.com, and you're not quite sure if Cats For Gold is the parody, or it's the other way around. When your spokesman is MC Hammer wearing sunglasses, waving a wad of cash around, you wonder if the company will send you a shipment of Hammer pants instead of gold. Had John Sutter come upon both websites back in 1848, he might have taken his chances with the alchemical possibility of forging cats from gold, and American history might have changed for the better. The Great Cat Rush of 1849 would have ensued, Levi-Strauss would be known for their cat trees and California would be the first state to legalize catnip.

Cats For Gold Going Viral
The Cats For Gold fad has not yet taken full form yet, as the parody site is still going viral. Perhaps its apex will arrive when PeTA complains about the inhumane treatment of these cats, which are shipped right to your door, even though they are fictional cats that originate from melted flecks of gold. They should definitely protest if Gold For Cats is created, because that's just wrong.

Sources:
CatsForGold.com
Kottke, Single Serving Sites
Wikipedia, Lolcat
Consumerist, The Article Cash4Gold Doesn't Want You To Read