This backlit cat with flyaway hair looks like a plasma globe if you exercise a bit of imagination!
This is what a plasma globe looks like. I hope you can see the similarity.
Why happened to the cat? Well, my guess is that it was a windy day and her hair was being pushed around by a strong breeze. The backlighting highlighted the hair strands. Sometimes static electricity can have a similar effect as the hair strands become charged. They attach to an opposite charge on a brush which has just passed through the fur on a cold, dry day. On that topic, static can cause a cat to feel an electric shock. It happens. Dampening down the fur prevents it.
Another page on static electricity: Static Electricity at Water Bowl Causes Cat to Hiss
SOME MORE PICTURES OF CATS: