What Cat Images Are Most Popular?

The most popular cat images combine humor, relatability, and expressive features—with meme cats like Grumpy Cat and behavioral photos showing “bleps” or “loafing” dominating social media. Orange tabby cats, candid personality shots, and images featuring exaggerated emotions consistently generate the highest engagement across platforms.

Understanding what makes certain cat images go viral can help you appreciate why these photos dominate our feeds and what makes them so universally appealing.

Why Cat Images Dominate the Internet

Over 6.5 billion cat pictures exist online, and cats drive approximately 15% of all internet traffic. This isn’t accidental—there’s a fascinating psychology behind why we gravitate toward feline photos.

Research by Jessica Gall Myrick at Indiana University found that viewing cat images measurably boosts mood, with participants reporting increased energy, happiness, and contentment while experiencing decreased anxiety and guilt after watching cat content. The effect is so pronounced that cat videos received more views per video than any other category on YouTube, with nearly 2 million cat videos posted in 2014 alone generating almost 26 billion views.

The internet serves as what researchers call “a virtual cat park, a social space for cat lovers in the same way that dog lovers congregate at a dog park”. Without physical gathering spaces for cat enthusiasts, online platforms became the natural meeting ground.

The Five Categories of Popular Cat Images

1. Meme Cats: The Icons of Internet Culture

Certain cats have achieved legendary status by becoming meme templates that transcend their original context.

Smudge, known as the “table cat,” gained over 1.4 million Instagram followers after appearing in the “Woman Yelling at a Cat” meme, which paired his confused expression at a dinner table with a Real Housewives scene. The format became so versatile that people created countless variations for different situations.

Grumpy Cat, whose real name was Tardar Sauce, rose to fame in 2012 with her permanently displeased expression caused by feline dwarfism and an underbite. Her grumpy face became the perfect canvas for expressing everyday frustrations, spawning merchandise, a movie, and millions of meme variations before her passing in 2019.

More recent viral sensations include the Huh Cat, whose confused “huh” sound paired with his bewildered expression, and Maxwell (Spinning Cat), a tuxedo cat whose 3D-rendered version became a fixture in gaming communities and TikTok videos.

2. Expressive Poses: The Language of Cat Body Language

Cats naturally position themselves in ways that humans find endlessly entertaining and relatable.

The Blep Phenomenon

A “blep” describes a cat sticking its tongue out slightly without realizing it, often for extended periods. The term was coined by the creator of the r/Blep subreddit, which has grown to nearly 500,000 members dedicated to sharing these moments. Instagram alone shows over 502,000 posts tagged #blep.

Bleps occur when cats are deeply relaxed—their jaws slacken during grooming or rest, letting their tongue slip out. The resulting expression appears simultaneously derpy and endearing, capturing a moment of unguarded vulnerability that resonates with viewers.

Cat Loafing

The “catloaf” or “loafing” position occurs when a cat tucks its paws and tail underneath its body, forming a loaf-like shape. This position signals that a cat feels safe and relaxed enough to forego a defensive posture. The resemblance to an actual bread loaf has made these images instantly recognizable and highly shareable, with dedicated social media communities celebrating this particular pose.

3. Orange Tabby Cats: The Beloved Goofballs

Orange cats occupy a special place in internet culture, often associated with endearingly chaotic behavior.

Approximately 80% of orange tabby cats are male due to a sex-linked genetic mutation on the X chromosome that controls their coloring. This genetic quirk has spawned an entire internet subculture around “orange cat behavior.”

On social media platforms, particularly TikTok, “orange cat behavior” describes cats being silly, chaotic, or friendly—often featuring these felines in awkward poses or making endearingly foolish mistakes. The running joke that “all orange cats share one brain cell” has become a beloved trope, with communities like Reddit’s r/OneOrangeBraincell dedicated to documenting these moments.

Famous orange cats include Garfield, who has been the face of lazy, lasagna-loving cats since 1978, and Jorts, an office cat who became a Reddit sensation and labor rights advocate on Twitter after workplace incidents involving margarine smearing.

4. Breed-Specific Beauty: The Photogenic Favorites

Certain cat breeds consistently generate high engagement due to their distinctive appearances.

The Maine Coon ranks as the most popular cat breed searched online, known for its impressive size, luxurious fur, and dog-like personality. Their majestic appearance in photos—often dwarfing other household objects—creates striking visual content.

Persian cats with their flat faces and long, flowing coats create aesthetically pleasing images that perform well on visual platforms. The Exotic Shorthair, essentially a short-haired Persian, is celebrated for its plush, teddy bear-like appearance.

Scottish Folds, with their distinctive folded ears, and Sphynx cats, with their hairless, wrinkled appearance, stand out visually and generate strong reactions—both adoring and curious.

5. Celebrity Cat Influencers: The Professional Stars

The rise of pet influencer culture has created a new category of popular cat images: professionally managed celebrity cats.

Nala Cat leads Instagram’s feline influencers with over 4 million followers. These accounts post high-quality, aesthetically curated images that blend professional photography with relatable captions. Other major players include Smoothie the Cat (the “Queen of Fluff”), Venus the Chimera Cat with her distinctive split-colored face, and Suki the Bengal cat, known for adventure photography with her canine companion.

The pet industry is projected to reach $500 billion by 2030, with cat influencers becoming trusted voices capable of shaping consumer preferences through brand partnerships.

What Makes These Images So Shareable

Several psychological and technical factors determine whether a cat image goes viral.

Emotional Resonance

Studies show that looking at cute animals activates the brain’s emotion and reward circuits, triggering the release of dopamine and oxytocin. Cat images that capture genuine emotion—whether it’s indignation, confusion, contentment, or mischief—allow viewers to project their own feelings onto the image.

Relatability Factor

The most viral cat images often mirror human experiences. A cat stuck in an awkward position becomes a metaphor for feeling trapped at work. A grumpy expression perfectly captures Monday morning moods. This anthropomorphization makes cat content universally relatable across cultures and languages.

The Imperfection Appeal

One researcher notes that cats’ “unselfconsciousness” is rare in an age of hyper-surveillance, and cat photos appeal to people as they imagine “the possibility of freedom from surveillance”. Unlike carefully curated selfies, cat photos capture authentic, unfiltered moments—cats don’t pose for the camera, making their images feel more genuine.

Technical Quality Matters Less

Unlike other popular image categories, cat photos don’t require professional equipment. A 2015 study found people were more than twice as likely to post a picture or video of a cat to the internet than they were to post a selfie. The spontaneity often makes these images more engaging than highly produced content.

Platform-Specific Trends

Different social media platforms favor different types of cat content.

Instagram tends to favor aesthetically pleasing images: beautiful breeds, artistic compositions, and celebrity cat accounts with consistent visual themes. The platform’s focus on curation means professional pet photography performs well here.

TikTok has embraced the chaotic energy of short-form cat videos, particularly favoring orange cat antics, cats reacting to sounds, and anthropomorphic voiceovers that give cats human dialogue. The platform’s algorithm rewards authentic, unpolished content.

Reddit communities like r/Blep, r/CatsStandingUp, r/Chonkers, and r/OneOrangeBraincell create micro-niches where specific types of cat images thrive. These communities often establish strict posting rules that define exactly what content fits their theme.

Twitter/X excels at meme cats and reaction images—photos that can be repurposed as emotional shorthand in conversations. The platform’s text-first nature means cat images often serve as visual punchlines.

Color and Pattern Psychology

Certain coat colors and patterns consistently attract more attention.

Orange tabbies dominate partly due to their association with famous fictional cats like Garfield and their reputation for friendly, outgoing personalities. The warm, bright coloring also photographs well across various lighting conditions.

Tuxedo cats (black and white) create strong visual contrast that makes them instantly recognizable. Their formal appearance has spawned countless “fancy cat” memes.

Calico and tortoiseshell cats attract attention with their complex color patterns, though they’re less meme-able than solid or simpler patterns.

Pure black cats face a unique challenge—they’re harder to photograph due to lighting requirements, but when captured well, their sleek appearance and glowing eyes create striking images.

The Role of Timing and Context

When a cat image is posted matters almost as much as the image itself. In 2024, cat dance challenges, cat yoga videos, and ASMR content featuring purring cats all went viral by tapping into broader trends.

Work-from-home culture during and after 2020 created new contexts for cat content—cats interrupting Zoom calls, walking across keyboards, and photobombing virtual meetings became relatable shared experiences that generated massive engagement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are cats more popular than dogs in internet images?

While dogs have more overall searches, cat content generates higher engagement per post and more viral views. Cats’ independence means owners have less control over photo moments, creating more authentic, unexpected images. Additionally, cat owners lack the physical gathering spaces dog owners have, making the internet their primary community space.

Do certain camera angles work better for cat photos?

Eye-level shots that capture cats’ facial expressions perform best, as they allow viewers to connect with the cat’s emotions. Low angles that make cats appear larger and more majestic also generate strong engagement, particularly for large breeds like Maine Coons. Overhead shots showing the loaf position or cats in boxes have dedicated audiences.

Why do orange cats seem more popular than other colors?

Orange cats’ predominance in pop culture, from Garfield to Morris the Cat, has created cultural associations with friendly, goofy personalities. The internet has amplified this through the “one brain cell” meme. Their warm coloring also photographs well and stands out in feeds dominated by neutral tones.

Making Sense of Cat Image Popularity

The enduring appeal of cat images reflects something deeper than simple cuteness. These photos offer brief moments of joy, relatability, and escape in an increasingly complex digital landscape. Whether it’s a professional shot of a majestic Maine Coon or a blurry photo of a derpy orange tabby mid-blep, cat images tap into our need for authentic connection and lighthearted content.

The most popular images typically share common elements: genuine emotion, relatable situations, distinctive visual appeal, and the ability to be repurposed or shared across contexts. As social media continues to evolve, cat content adapts while maintaining its core appeal—capturing the unpredictable, unself-conscious nature of our feline companions in ways that resonate with millions of people worldwide.