Fur Flies Over Artist's Dead Cat Helicopter

Me-ouch. Animal lovers are spitting mad about a Dutch artist's project turning his dead cat into a flying machine. Bart Jansen is presenting his pet, Orville—stuffed and morphed into a helicopter—at the ongoing KunstRai art fair in Amsterdam, reports CBS. The Orville-copter actually flies with the help of a propeller on each stiffened outstretched paw, which Orville "received posthumously," explains the artist. The tabby died about six months ago when he was hit by a car. "We were very sad, and we mourned for a couple of days," says Jansen. "But then I thought we'd make a tribute to his name, and honor him by making him fly." The "work" consists of "taxidermied catskin, polyesther casing, and quadcopter."

The cat zooms through the sky via remote control to "fly with the birds; oh how he loved the birds," writes Jansen on his web site. Not chortling is the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "It's a macabre way to honor a beloved family member," a spokesman tells MSNBC. Notes one YouTube viewer: "This is sick. Lay the poor cat to rest." Jansen's response? He plans to attach more powerful propellers to Orville's paws. (More Amsterdam stories.)