If you’ve been keeping your eyes open, you might have caught a glimpse of the “cat montage” meme that has been spreading through Japan and beyond.
The gist: A human draws a set of cartoon eyes for its furry friend and creates a funny collage.
Credit for this simple yet viral idea goes to Twitter user Shirotamaaaa, who sparked the trend in early November. His original post has been retweeted more than 4,500 times.
Spilling over into Instagram and YouTube, the meme is also gaining traction overseas.
So bored! #NekoMontaaju pic.twitter.com/yXEpB1lVkY
— Mick Tierney (@MrDevz) November 25, 2014
The joke has even spread further into the animal kingdom with pictures of dogs, rabbits and hamsters.
https://twitter.com/kohaumichan/status/537206228641132544/
Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! #猫モンタージュ
話題の猫モンタージュ うちには猫がいないのでモルモンタージュで pic.twitter.com/DvVY3jvMXl
— 内田温(うちだはる) (@Halle_Uchida) November 21, 2014
Pro tip from cat montage experts: snap it when your feline is sleeping.
Here's my poor cat enduring my humour! #catmontage pic.twitter.com/O5WWDsxVwm
— Paula W (@PeeDub724) December 1, 2014
やってみた #猫モンタージュ pic.twitter.com/5ON7N3JjxB
— ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ) (@uuutk) November 29, 2014
ぐぽーん。#猫モンタージュ pic.twitter.com/a3AOZvmYQq
— ソノヤマ・タカスケ (@T_SONOYAMA) December 1, 2014
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.