Popcat

"Popcat" is a viral internet meme based on two juxtaposed images of a white domestic short-haired cat named Oatmeal, appearing first with a neutral, closed mouth and then with a wide, photoshopped open-mouthed expression forming an 'O' shape. The meme format became a universal expression of surprise, enthusiasm, or exaggerated reactions, evolving from a simple reaction image into a global interactive phenomenon.

The meme originated in mid-October 2020 when Twitter user @XavierBFB (Xavier Omär) posted two images of his cat Oatmeal to a private Discord server—one showing the cat normally, and another edited to give the cat a widely opened, O-shaped mouth (Wikipedia, 2025). The original context involved Oatmeal chirping at a bug, which inspired the exaggerated mouth-opening effect.

On October 9, 2020, Reddit user Skettidragon, a friend of @XavierBFB, posted a GIF based on these photographs to the r/MEOW_IRL subreddit, where it gained 122 upvotes in one month (Know Your Meme, 2020). The crucial viral moment came on October 10, 2020, when Twitter user @partitiongal reposted the edit and the two images, with the tweet gaining over 1.6 million views and 57,100 retweets (Know Your Meme, 2020).

Following this viral breakthrough, @XavierBFB posted the original video of Oatmeal chirping at a bug on October 11, 2020 (now deleted). The meme quickly spread across multiple platforms, with users creating various formats including lip-sync videos where the cat appeared to "sing" along to popular songs, and four-panel reaction memes on Twitter and Facebook (Know Your Meme, 2020).

The meme's second wave of explosive popularity came with the launch of Popcat.click on December 11, 2020. Created by three computer science students from the University of Sheffield—Joshua O'Sullivan, Edward Hails, and Freddy Heppell—the website transformed the static meme into an interactive clicker game (Wikipedia, 2025). Users could click on Oatmeal's image to produce the signature "pop" sound, with clicks tracked globally by country, creating an unexpected element of international competition.

The clicker website became a global phenomenon throughout 2021, particularly gaining traction in Asian countries. Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia engaged in intense clicking competitions, with the game becoming integrated into political movements, particularly during the 2020-2021 Thai protests where it served as a form of digital solidarity (Wikipedia, 2025). By August 2021, the website had accumulated over 455 billion clicks worldwide, with Hong Kong eventually claiming the top position on the leaderboard.

The game's popularity was so intense that it was banned in several Finnish schools in April 2021, and it was named the #1 trending game of 2021 by Google Trends (Study International, 2022). The phenomenon also inspired numerous derivative websites, including political parodies like popyut.click in Thailand, which featured Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's mouth opening and closing in the same manner.

Beyond the clicker game, Popcat's cultural impact extended to cryptocurrency (POPCAT token on Solana blockchain), gaming platforms (as a character in Roblox games), and mainstream media coverage across multiple countries. The meme exemplifies how simple, relatable content can evolve from personal social media posts into complex, multi-platform cultural phenomena that bridge humor, gaming, and even political expression.