I regret $8K procedures to transform into a cat — the dumb publicity stunt was excruciating

This woman’s quest for viral purrfection has been pawsitively agonizing.

Jolene Dawson, a wildly aspirational trendsetter on TikTok, spent approximately $8,000 (AUD $12,000) to make herself look as much like a cat as a human can, turning to “experimental” procedures to flare her nostrils and accentuate her cheekbones much like that of a feline.

But when the 29-year-old from Gold Coast, Australia, looks back on the cat-astrophe meow, she regrets it, she told Jam Press, citing the painful side effects.

Over the course of her transformation, Dawson claimed that her body began to “reject” the filler as it migrated throughout her face, where it was not intended. Meanwhile, a new procedure involving barbed threading was so painful that she attempted to remove the filaments herself, leaving lesions and scars on her cheeks.

“This was always intended to be a publicity stunt and I stuck with reversible options because I knew I wouldn’t want to look like a cat forever,” Dawson said on What’s The Jam.

“However, I could have never predicted my body’s reaction to these treatments and the way it has changed the composition of my lower face.”

Dawson, who also works as a venture capitalist, maintained that she “never identified as a cat.”

“I’ll be honest with you,” she said, “and I don’t want to admit this, but I was just doing this for attention.”

So, she opted for “reversible” procedures to pursue the feline persona. Unfortunately, she said she still took her clout-chasing campaign too far, leading to unanticipated side effects such as extreme acid reflux due to migrating filler through her nasal cavity. “I thought I could push it a little further.”

Dawson has since had all her fillers and any additional implants removed, saying she’s “hopeful” she’s on her way back to health.

She has also hired a therapist to help work on her “need for validation in the form of public attention.”

“I’m well aware of how dumb this was,” she further lamented. I have been in a lot of pain because of it.”

“I just want to advise against ever getting experimental procedures, and any procedure for the wrong reason.”