There were, at the time of writing this article, more than 4.5 million posts on Instagram and 240.4K posts on TikTok with the hashtag #catmemes.
It’s kind of wild, but cat pictures and memes aren’t just a thing of the internet age — they’ve been around for ages.
Cat postcards from the early 1900s can actually tell us a lot about social media today, experts say. Back then, postcards were everywhere, and cats basically owned the medium.
Cats were popular with royalty and the elite, even Queen Victoria was a cat fan. And these animals were also associated with Halloween.
Some postcards showed cats drinking milk or playing with yarn. Others were totally silly, dressing cats up like humans, making them do jobs, or acting out little home scenes.
“Postcards are similar to memes, and much like today, early 20th-Century visual culture was all about animals, especially cats,” says Heidi Herr, a librarian at Johns Hopkins University.
Ever since the internet really took off in the ’90s, people have been sharing pictures of cats with funny captions over email.
In 2007, a website went viral for sharing funny pictures of cats. Users were able to upload pictures of their cats, and turn them into LOLcat memes — pictures with writing over the top.
The internet also created some legit cat celebrities, like Grumpy Cat, Lil’ Bub, and Maru. These felines became minor celebs, appearing on TV shows, ads, even film festivals. Some of them got their own merchandise too.
Lil’ Bub’s owner started a charity in her name, and helped raise more than $700,000 for animal charities during her lifetime.
As social media grew, cats found their place in there too. Viral videos like Keyboard Cat and memes like Grumpy Cat spread everywhere.
Websites like ICanHasCheezburger popped up just to collect the best cat content — funny pics, viral videos, and memes — basically acting as a one-stop shop for everything e-cat.
A 2025 UK cats-report-uk-2025_digital.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report found that 78% of people who enjoy cat online content say they watch cute or funny cat‑related stuff at least once a month, including cat videos and memes.
In another survey, 68% of cat owners said they have shared a cat photo or video online, and 44% follow at least one cat‑centric social media account.
So why are cat memes so popular?
The reason lies in their perfect blend of humor, relatability, and the quirky behavior that cat owners witness daily.
Making judgy and weird faces, stretching like tiny humans when they’re tired, knocking things off tables just because… cats are basically little comedians in fur coats.
They are super expressive as well — wide eyes, twitchy whiskers, flattened ears — all perfect for funny captions.
And because cats are naturally independent, their indifference adds that perfect deadpan vibe that makes memes even funnier.
A 2025 study looking at cat memes on TikTok found that these little furballs can trigger something called “cute aggression,” that weird urge to squeeze or squeal at something adorable.
They help us release emotions humorously, which deepens the meme’s appeal.
Their big eyes and round faces also make our brains treat them a bit like babies, which makes us pay more attention and feel more affection, even in memes.
