About

Homeless Hamster refers to an AI-generated image of a hamster with traveler chlotes and a walking stick. Various videos went viral on TikTok in September 2023 because of the popularity of similar memes like Smurf Cat and Strawberry Elephant.

Origin

The image of the hamster was originally created by AI prompter Oziiiai and uploaded in Instagram on January 17th, 2023, receiving 65.000 likes in 8 months(shown below).^[1]

It was first used in memes by TikToker @conquestor__ on September 14th, 2023. The TikTok introducing the character with the song "Faded" by Alan Walker, receiving 2,300,000 views and 426,000 likes in four days(shown below).^[2]

Spread

The TikToker @am.mats in the same day uploaded another version of the edit using the song The Spectre with the excerpt We Live We Love We Lie, receiving 42,000 views and 1,800 likes in 4 days(shown below, left).^[3] The TikToker @got13000vbucks in the same day uploaded a video asking if Homeless Hamster is better than Smurf Cat, receiving 11,000 views and 334 likes in 4 days(shown below, right).^[4]