About

Polite Cat, also known as He Looks Very Polite, refers to a reaction image of a cat named Ollie looking at the camera with what has been described as a "polite" expression. The image is also associated with a series of photoshop exploitables featuring mock text message conversations between a landlord and a prospective renter. Instagram user @Khan_Amon_Ra^[9] has claimed ownership of the cat.

Origin

On June 7th, 2018, a photograph of the cat was submitted to the internet humor site 9gag^[10] with the title "My face when someone expects me to be excited about something that I'm not excited about" (shown below). Within two months, the post gathered upwards of 1,200 points.

Spread

On July 2nd, 2018, Instagram^[1] user @livewithflip submitted a screenshot of a text message conversation in which a landlord named "Bruce" makes an exception for a cat because "he looks very polite." The post (shown below) received more than 21,000 likes in one week.

Over the next two days, people on Reddit and Twitter ^[5] shared the image. On July 3rd, the post was shared on the subreddits /r/GoodFakeTexts^[2] (7,300 points, 94% upvoted), /r/BadFakeTexts^[3] (4,400 points, 89% upvoted), /r/MemeEconomy ^[4] )15,000 points, 94% upvoted) and more.

On July 3rd, Redditor^[6] Myom_Everwind posted variation of the meme featuring the character Felix Argyle from the anime and manga Re:Zero. The post (shown below, left) received more than 370 points (98% upvoted) in six days.

The following day, Redditor^[7] jeffyisagoodbird published a version of a red panda in a hat in the /r/kilian subreddit. The post (shown below, center) received more than 430 points in five days.

Days later, on July 9th, Instagram^[8] user @grapejuiceboys posted a version featuring a bulldog. The post (shown below, right) received more than 13,000 likes in less than six hours.

Also on July 9th, a person claiming to be Ollie's owner created the @Khan_Amon_Ra^[9] Instagram feed. On July 15th, YouTuber PewDiePie uploaded a video about the cat memes titled "Tekashi 6ix9ine saved by polite cat" (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References