Did Steven Tyler start a $1 million cat sanctuary called "Whiskers & Wings", in October 2025? No, that's not true: That widely-shared story, and the image that came with it, did not portray real events. We found no record of any such announcement on Tyler's social media profiles, or in news archives.
The story appeared in an October 20, 2025, post on Facebook (archived here), and included what appeared to be a photo of Tyler cutting the ribbon at a cat refuge, alongside several cats, members of staff, and banners that read "Tyler's Whiskers & Wings" and "Steven launches $1 million cat rescue sanctuary."
The text next to the photo read:
Steven Tyler Launches $1 Million Cat Rescue Sanctuary
Rock legend Steven Tyler, the iconic frontman of Aerosmith, has pledged $1 million to build a cutting-edge cat rescue and rehabilitation sanctuary -- a project already winning hearts long before its doors open.
Known for his electrifying performances and flamboyant style, Tyler has quietly been a lifelong cat lover, often making anonymous donations to animal shelters. Now, he's stepping forward publicly to champion a cause that reflects his softer, deeply compassionate side.
During a recent visit to the proposed site -- nestled in a peaceful suburban community -- witnesses saw the rock icon kneel beside injured cats, gently stroking them as if greeting old friends.
"This won't just be a shelter," Tyler said. "It'll be a sanctuary -- a place where music, art, and compassion come together to heal."
The facility, set to open in late 2026, will provide medical care, adoption services, and creative therapy spaces where volunteers and animals alike can find comfort and connection.
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: Screenshot of October 20 post by https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557762522719)
The story and image were both bogus.
We found no trace of any such announcement on Steven Tyler's profiles on Instagram (archived here); Facebook (archived here); YouTube (archived here); or X (archived here).
Similarly, searches for the words "Steven Tyler" and "cat sanctuary" yielded no relevant results on Google News (archived here) or Yahoo! News (archived here).
Nor could we find any corroboration for the authenticity or provenance of the image.
The Facebook account that posted it, Rock Revival 60s-90s, also posted at least two other versions of the fake "ribbon-cutting" (archived here), including one which showed dogs in the image and described Tyler's $1 million investment as relating to a "pet sanctuary", rather than a cat sanctuary (archived here).
Those inconsistencies further underlined the fictional nature of the story, and the likely AI-generated origins of the images.
