Greenpeace calls internet cats to help save tigers on International Tiger Day

What do you get when you combine Lil Bub, Hamilton the Hipster Cat, Nala and Venus the cat? That would be latest species-saving campaign from Greenpeace. No, really.

The environmental organisation has rolled out something special for International Tiger Day. Its #CatsSaveTigers campaign is a partnership with some of the internet’s biggest kitties, which sees them using their social media influence to raise awareness about the plight of their larger cousins. In the last century, the world’s tiger population has decreased by 97%, with only an estimated 3000 of the big cats still living in the wild.

In addition to the collaboration with some of the web’s most well known cats, Greenpeace has also created a dedicated site to allow anyone to upload their own cat photo and generate a quick meme featuring their pet.

Once you’ve shaken your fist at the sky after seeing the site’s design (Comic Sans!), you can enter your pet’s name, upload a snapshot and insert the text you’d like to use. The site will churn out a bite-sized branded image for you to download and share on your favourite social media service.

The campaign also helps to drive micro-donations towards their efforts in tiger conservation, asking users who generate their own cat memes to consider parting with some cash towards the cause and sharing some basic information about the loss of the species’ habitat to forestry and mining.

The Cats Save Tigers campaign is a bit more upbeat than Greenpeace’s other recent endeavour, which featured a sombre twist on The Lego Movie and polar bears drowning in oil. Still, we’ve yet to see if this cat-friendly version will gain as much attention as its viral anti-Lego video.