Leave your self-defense gear at home or risk it being confiscated at the airport, warns TSA.
In a viral video with more than 225,000 views, travel influencer Tayler Gill (@travelingtayler) shared a TSA PSA about “cat eyes.”
What are cat eyes?
“Cat eyes” are a small portable self-defense weapon shaped like a cat’s head. The cat’s “ears” are prominent and sharp. When you lace your fingers through the “eyes,” the weapon fits firmly in your hand, allowing you to strike an attacker with the ears.
Cat eyes are often made of plastic or metal and come in a variety of colors. They are designed to be carried on a keychain for convenience. Given that many are designed to look rather cute, with whiskers and glitter details, many people don’t recognize them as weapons when they see them on a keychain.
Why can’t you take cat eyes on a plane?
While they are a more unassuming weapon, cat eyes are classified like brass knuckles in the airport.
Gill explained that in recent months, the TSA reported that there’s been an uptick in people flying with these weapons.
“Just be careful when you’re packing. If you like, keep this in your purse for protection,” Gill noted.
When detected at a TSA security checkpoint the passenger is pulled to the side, their bags are opened and searched. If cat eyes are found the passenger has the choice to leave the item in the car (or give it to the person who dropped them off) or surrender it to TSA for disposal.
“The frequency in which we are seeing these items among carry-on items is disappointing,” said Bart R. Johnson, TSA’s Federal Security Director for 13 airports in Upstate New York, in a press release.
While Johnson commended his TSA officers for their diligence in spotting these weapons, he’s asked people to be mindful (demure, even) and just leave the item at home.
Ultimately, it’s a huge pain for everyone involved, slowing down the one for fellow passengers and adding work for the TSA agents.
@travelingtayler #greenscreen I’m gonna be honest I had never even heard of these before but apparently they’re becoming a problem 😼 #tsa #tipsforflying #flyingtips #carryonpacking ♬ original sound – Tayler Gill
Are cat eyes a good self-defense tool?
Cat eyes are often marketed to women, college students, and people who get off work or tend to be out late at night.
But this may not actually be the best self-defense tool for most people, said David Nance, CEO of SABRE (Chicago-based self-defense product seller) in an interview. He noted that the best self-defense tools are usually the ones you can use from a distance.
“Why go hands-on when the attacker could be faster, stronger, and more skilled than you?” Nance asked.
“And then you have to be mentally prepared to want to actually stab somebody,” they said. “It has to escalate to that level, and there could be fallout repercussions of that as well.”
Are cat eyes legal?
Cat eyes are illegal in 21 states, legal with a license in 17 states, and legal in 12 states, according to the Self Defense Keychain Store.
They are often classified as brass knuckles even though they are less powerful comparatively.
Illegal: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington.
Legal with a license: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Legal: Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
Who sells cat eyes?
Cat eyes generally cost $8 to $12 and are readily available online. However, retail giant Amazon doesn’t seem to carry them. The only one we found seemed to have the pointy ears purposefully covered up with stickers, presumably so Amazon wouldn’t recognize the image as a weapon.
Commenter reactions
“A lot of self-defense tools aren’t allowed on planes. It’s still smart to keep one close by for most days. We just have to make sure they aren’t there for flights,” the top comment read.
“Put these in checked bags. Check the rules for international travel,” a person suggested.
“You can’t take a weapon on a plane? whaaaaaat?” another wrote sarcastically.
The Daily Dot reached out to Gill for comment via email and Instagram direct message and to TSA via email.
Update 12:29pm EST Sept. 9: “Packing is like second nature to me at this point, but I get a lot of first time flyers who watch my videos who are anxious for their upcoming trip. They genuinely want to do their best but it’s a lot of information and they don’t always know where to find it. So whenever I run across any of these articles I like to share them, not only because I find it interesting, but also because it could help someone have a better airport experience,” Gill said in a written comment.
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