With their capital city in lockdown amid fears of a Paris-style terror attack, Belgians looked for some relief from the tension. The answer? Cat pictures.
The lockdown continued on Monday, with schools and metros remaining closed. As Belgian authorities conducted a wide-ranging manhunt for Islamist terrorists across an otherwise deserted Brussels, police took to Twitter to ask the public not to post details of the search.
"For safety, please observe radio silence on social media about ongoing police operations," the Police Federale posted on Twitter, according to Google Translate.
But instead of radio silence, cooped-up tweeters in Brussels instead decided to off some steam by tweeting pictures of their cats - with the hashtag BrusselsLockdown. And in the way of all efforts at cat domination, the effort soon went global.
We will destroy this terrorist organization. #BrusselsLockdown
#relax, Mes amis #BrusselsLockdown
Cats to the rescue #BrusselsLockdown
Don't tell them I'm there!!! #BrusselsLockdown
We must not let fear win… #BrusselsLockDown
It looks like the police appreciated all the kitting around. The Crisis Center Belgium took to Twitter to thank users for not sharing police movements.
"Thanks to the media and citizens for their silence online as asked during the juridicial intervention tonight," it said.
