Where Did The Picture Of 'Ceiling Cat' Come From? The Photoshop Meme Explained

The image of Ceiling Cat led to one of the internet's earliest Photoshop battles in the 2000s and the early 2010s, with people endlessly editing the image of an orange cat peaking through a hole in the ceiling. The hole in the ceiling appears to be roughly sawed in, with the image giving no further indication of how the ginger cat got there, or how it plans to escape.

Here's a recap of all the work internet historians put into tracking down the origin of the Ceiling Cat image, from speculations that the photo may have come from the personal files of a Wikipedia contributor to a Something Awful forum member trying his best to prove that the cat was actually his mate's.

Where Does The Image Of 'Ceiling Cat' Come From?

There have been a few attempts to track down the origin of the Ceiling Cat image, with Encyclopedia Dramatic stating that the cat belongs to Wikipedia user Samguana. This claim, however, is unverified. In May 2012, Something Awful poster Quarex claiming to be friends with the cat's owner posted a slightly different angle of the cat in the ceiling as proof.

Despite the issues with tracking down the ownership of the image, it's safe to say that the photo first appeared online no later than June 1st, 2003, where it was hosted on FunnyJunk.

How Did 'Ceiling Cat' Become A Meme?

The image of Ceiling Cat came to be photoshopped in endless variations in the late 2000s, with different versions of the image often appearing on 4chan's /b/ board. Many Photoshops played on the notion that Ceiling Cat may be a god, a sentiment echoed in an Urban Dictionary post dedicated to that alluded to "Catnarok" mythology.

In July 2007, Kongregate posted a Flash game knockoff of Space Invaders called Ceiling Cat Invaders, while design blog Tubbypaws shared the schematics for making a DIY papercraft Ceiling Cat.

What Is The Mythology Surrounding Ceiling Cat?

Many memes about Ceiling Cat depicted it as some kind of divine deity, given that many jokes about the cat centered around its supposed omniscience. The notion that the Ceiling Cat is a god was further developed by fans who connected the meme to Longcat and Tacgnol at the height of LOLcat fame.

Some jokes converted biblical verses to LOLSpeak, posing Ceiling Cat in the place of God in the Bible.

"Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem. Da Urfs no had shapez An haded dark face, An Ceiling Cat rode invisible bike over teh waterz."

How Is Ceiling Cat Remembered Today?

The viral spread of another cat stuck in the ceiling in 2018 led to people diving back into Ceiling Cat memes, with many jokes continuing the theme of the Cat as the Divine. This can be seen in a Creation of Adam parody meme that shows Ceiling Cat showing Ceiling Cat 2.0 the ropes.

For the full history of Ceiling Cat, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.