A French short film pokes fun at the viral Internet's fascination with cats and the misadventures of one feline when its owners are away.

"Hashtag Cat," starts off innocently with a kitten being brought home by a new family.

The cute critter plays and explores its new environment, and has its photo taken with its owners. The photo is shared in a blitz of social media attention gathering thousands of views.

But the tone changes when the cat is left alone at home the next day, which sees the cat sleeping, viewing "cat pornography" on a computer, and fending off a home intruder with makeshift traps. The cat then takes a selfie photo with the unconscious body of the would-be burglar.

The film, directed by Olivier Servieres, ends with that photo being blasted across news websites generating even greater numbers of views.

Servieres told Reuters it took him three weeks to create the short video, and he was pressed for time by the fastly-growing kitten. The 29-year-old computer engineer said he was inspired to use his pet as a centerpiece after finding it hard to obtain "motivated" actors in his small village for his other film projects.

A sequel is in the works.