Popcat

/POP-kat/

proper noun

Popcat names a meme of Oatmeal the cat with an edited O-shaped mouth, and the clicker game later built around that image.

#cat memes
#reaction images
#clicker games
#online leaderboards

Meaning

Popcat refers to the meme built around Oatmeal, shown with a closed mouth beside an edited image of the cat's mouth opened into a wide O. It can also mean Popcat.click, the game that made the image pop open as users clicked and contributed to a country leaderboard. The image's emotional or interpersonal meaning depends on context.[1][2]

1. The Oatmeal cat meme: paired or alternating images of the cat with its mouth closed and edited into a wide O.
2. Popcat.click: a clicker game where tapping the image makes the cat's mouth pop open and contributes to a country leaderboard.

A tweet shows two side-by-side images of a white cat: one with a wide O-shaped open mouth and one with its mouth closed, with Korean text above. — This post shows the Popcat format: the same cat with a closed mouth beside an edited, exaggerated O-shaped mouth. Source

Examples

“That Popcat face is perfect for this tiny surprise.”

“I sent the Popcat GIF; the O-shaped mouth says it all.”

“We spent a few minutes clicking Popcat and checking the leaderboard.”

Origin and spread

Know Your Meme reports that photos of Oatmeal were shared in a Discord server before a Reddit user edited them on October 9, 2020; that post was later deleted, so this is a documented milestone, not a confirmed first use. The image circulated in paired and video formats. Popcat.click turned it into a collective clicker game: users tapped the image and clicks were tallied by country. In August 2021, Mothership reported that some Thai participants used the competition to draw attention to domestic political concerns.[2][3][4]

How to use it

Popcat is primarily a meme and game name, not a general reaction word with a fixed emotional meaning. The image can suggest surprise or playful emphasis in context, but the source material does not establish one standard reading. Mention Popcat.click when you mean the game rather than the cat image.

A social-media post shows the Popcat clicker site, with the cat image beside a country leaderboard and text about Malaysia's ranking. — This post shows the Popcat.click game beside a country leaderboard and text about Malaysia's ranking. Source

A meme name, not a fixed reaction

The documented identity is the edited Oatmeal image and its related video formats. Calling an unrelated open-mouthed cat “Popcat” loses that specific reference; the image itself does not establish a single emotion.[1]

When the game became political

During the 2021 leaderboard contest, Mothership reported that some Thai players used their scoring to bring attention to domestic political concerns. It also quoted one player making a tongue-in-cheek link between free time and job losses; that was an individual post, not a general explanation for participation.[4]

Questions people ask

Is Popcat the same thing as Popcat.click?

Not exactly. Popcat usually names the Oatmeal cat meme; Popcat.click is the interactive game built around that image, with clicks counted toward a country leaderboard.[1][2]

Did Popcat have a political meaning?

The image does not have an established political meaning by itself. In the 2021 game competition, Mothership reported that some Thai players used leaderboard scoring to draw attention to domestic political concerns.[4]

Sources

1. Know Your Meme — Pop CatSupports: meaning, earliest documented use.
2. Know Your Meme — Popcat.clickSupports: meaning, origin.
3. The University of Sheffield — Turning ideas into a popping success!Supports: origin.
4. Mothership — Thais worked to take top spot in Popcat game amid calls demanding PM to resignSupports: origin.