There Actually Is One Case of Cat Litter in Schools… But It’s for a Very Dark Reason
The conspiracy theory has long been falsely promoted by GOP politicians.
For years, Republican lawmakers and pundits have been spreading a conspiracy theory that public schools have litter boxes in their bathrooms, for students who identify as cats. Just this week, Joe Rogan told former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on his podcast that his friend’s wife works at a school with a litter box.
While these situations have never been confirmed, it hasn’t stopped some politicians from spreading the claim as a way to “harm our community, in particular our transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive youth,” Nadine Bridges, executive director of One Colorado, told NBC News.
NBC News is out with a new deep dive looking into the origin of the bizarre claims. The outlet did find one school district that does, in fact, have cat litter onsite — but not for the reason conservatives might think. Per NBC News, “[t]he district — where Columbine High School is located — has been stocking classrooms with small amounts of cat litter since 2017, but as part of ‘go buckets’ that contain emergency supplies in case students are locked in a classroom during a shooting.”