Nyan Cat is one of the most recognizable memes from the early days of viral internet culture. It shows a gray cat with a pink Pop-Tart for a body flying through space while leaving a rainbow trail behind it. The animation is usually paired with the extremely catchy Japanese song “Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!” by Japanese producer daniwellP.
What makes Nyan Cat interesting is that the image and the famous video were not originally created as one project. The cat animation came first, and the music was added later by another internet user. That simple combination turned a small pixel-art GIF into a worldwide internet phenomenon.
What Does Nyan Cat Mean?
Nyan Cat does not really have a deep or complicated meaning. Its humor comes from the fact that it is completely absurd: a cat has a Pop-Tart body, flies endlessly through outer space, leaves a rainbow behind it, and is accompanied by a repetitive Japanese song.
The word nyan is important to the meme’s name. In Japanese, nyan is an onomatopoeic word used for a cat’s meow, similar to “meow” in English. The name became popular after the animated GIF was combined with the song and uploaded to YouTube under the title “Nyan Cat.”
The character was originally known as Pop-Tart Cat. The name Nyan Cat eventually became much more widely used because of the viral YouTube video.
Who Created Nyan Cat?
The original Nyan Cat animation was created by illustrator Christopher Torres, who was known online as prguitarman.
The idea came from a surprisingly random situation. On April 2, 2011, Torres was taking part in a charity drawing livestream for the Red Cross. During the stream, viewers separately asked him to draw a cat and a Pop-Tart. Instead of choosing between the two ideas, he combined them.
The result was a gray cat with a Pop-Tart body and a rainbow trail. Torres later explained that the cat’s appearance was inspired partly by his own Russian Blue cat, Marty. He then turned the drawing into an 8-bit animated GIF and posted it online.
How Did Nyan Cat Become Famous?
The original GIF was only part of the story. A few days after Torres posted the animation, YouTube user saraj00n, whose real name is Sara June, paired the animation with the Japanese song “Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!”.
The video was uploaded on April 5, 2011, and this combination of pixel art and repetitive music became the version that millions of people recognized as Nyan Cat.
The song itself was created by Japanese producer daniwellP. It was associated with the Vocaloid music scene, while the version used in the viral Nyan Cat video came from a cover using the UTAU voice Momone Momo.
The video reached one million views within about two weeks. From there, the meme moved rapidly across Tumblr, Facebook, YouTube and popular internet blogs.
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Why Was Nyan Cat So Popular?
Part of Nyan Cat’s appeal was its simplicity. There was no complicated joke to understand. You simply watched a tiny pixel cat fly through space while the same energetic music repeated again and again.
The combination was almost impossible to forget. The bright rainbow, cute cat, strange Pop-Tart body and repetitive song gave the meme a distinctive identity that could be recognized almost immediately.
It was also extremely easy to remix. Internet users could replace the character, change the music, create new animations or turn the basic idea into a game. This helped Nyan Cat survive beyond its original GIF.
Nyan Cat’s Spread Across the Internet
During 2011, Nyan Cat appeared in countless remixes, fan creations and parody videos. The character also moved outside the usual meme spaces.
Nyan Cat was featured in a Sprint Nexus 4G “Cats” commercial, while fan-made games included titles such as Nyan Cat: Lost in Space and other Nyan Cat-inspired projects. There were even attempts to recreate the character on older gaming hardware.
The original video became one of YouTube’s biggest viral videos of 2011 and was ranked as the fifth most-viewed YouTube video of that year.
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What Happened to Nyan Cat Later?
Like many early internet memes, Nyan Cat eventually stopped dominating the internet. Its biggest viral period was around 2011 to 2013, but the character remained recognizable long after that period.
Nyan Cat received another burst of attention in 2021 when the original creator sold a one-of-a-kind crypto artwork featuring the famous character for roughly $590,000. The sale showed how a simple internet GIF from the early 2010s had become part of the larger history of digital art and internet culture.
Nyan Cat and Internet Culture
Nyan Cat is a good example of how memes worked during the early 2010s. A creator could make something small without knowing whether it would become famous. Another person could remix it, and users on different websites could continue changing and sharing it.
There was no large marketing campaign behind Nyan Cat. The original idea came from two random drawing requests during a charity livestream. The famous music-video version appeared only a few days later. The internet then did the rest.
That is also why Nyan Cat remains memorable. It represents a period when viral internet culture was heavily driven by GIFs, YouTube videos, Tumblr posts, remixes and simple pieces of absurd humor.
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| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Common name | Nyan Cat |
| Original name | Pop-Tart Cat |
| Creator | Christopher Torres, also known as prguitarman |
| Original animation | April 2, 2011 |
| Viral YouTube upload | April 5, 2011 |
| Original format | 8-bit animated GIF |
| Character | Gray cat with a Pop-Tart body |
| Music | “Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!” |
| Music creator | daniwellP |
| Name meaning | “Nyan” is a Japanese cat-meow sound, similar to “meow” |
| Main platforms | YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter and internet forums |
| Peak popularity | 2011–2013 |
| Major later event | Nyan Cat NFT sold for about $590,000 in 2021 |
The original Nyan Cat animation was created by artist Christopher Torres, also known online as prguitarman.
The character was originally known as Pop-Tart Cat. The name Nyan Cat became popular after the famous YouTube video was uploaded.
The famous Nyan Cat video uses “Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!” by Japanese music producer daniwellP. The viral version used an UTAU cover associated with Momone Momo.
The Pop-Tart body came from a random drawing idea. During a charity drawing livestream, people asked Christopher Torres to draw a cat and a Pop-Tart. He combined both ideas into one character.