From their tongue bleps to their toe beans, cats have dominated the internet pretty much since its rise to prominence in the '90s. Online communities like r/cats and r/MEOW_IRL have hundreds of thousands of loyal followers, and you need look no further than the Instagram hashtag #catsofinstagram to see that netizens can’t get enough of posting their feline friends being cool, crazy, or in cute-overload mode.
Cats seem to be made for the spotlight and the internet has proved to be the perfect stage for their appearances and antics. Celebrity cats like Lil Bub, Maru, and Monty are perfect examples of cats going viral and coining it with their own lines of merchandise. There’s even a NY Cat Film Festival dedicated to displaying the best cat content of the year while supporting cat charities wherever they tour.
A 2015 survey found that cats drove about 15% of all internet traffic. To put that into perspective, of about 4.66 billion people frequently using the web back then, 699 million were, at some point, searching for cats or cat-related topics every month. That’s a fair chunk of feline fans with a penchant for their purring pets.
Cats are even creating their own videos now. The New York Times reports, “The rise of wearable camera technology, though more often used by surfers or snowboarders than pets, has led to another niche style of cat content.” High-resolution collar cameras allow cats to broadcast their adventures, like Mr. Kitters and his friends, who boast over 1 million followers on Instagram.
In 2010, it was estimated that there were about 1.3 billion cat pictures on the internet. Last year, that number was expected to be more than 6.5 billion. Over 2 million cat videos were posted on YouTube in 2014 alone, which accounted for more than 26 billion views. Eight years later, the number of cat videos on the channel has exploded to tens of millions and shows no signs of slowing down.
Have you ever made a meme with your cat? If you haven’t yet, there’s still time. Who knows, your kitty might be the next big internet sensation. Let us know what you thought of this collection of cat memes and don’t forget to upvote and comment on your favorites!