The US embassy in Canberra has issued an official apology for a fake meeting invitation that was distributed earlier due to a US Department of State "training error."
According to AAP, the email was titled "meeting" and featured a photo of a tabby cat wearing a blue Cookie Monster outfit and holding a plate of chocolate chip cookies, beneath the title "cat pajama-jam."
The message also contained a Latin section and even an RSVP tab that recipients could click on, and it remains unclear how widely it was distributed.
"Sorry to disappoint those of you who were hoping to attend this 'cat pajama-jam' party, but such an event falls well outside our area of expertise," Gavin Sundwall, US Mission to Australia public affairs counsellor, wrote in a follow-up email. "It was a training error made by one of our new staff testing out our email newsletter platform."
This development did not escape the attention of Twitter users, some of whom were quick to poke fun at the gaffe.