Screaming Cat

About

Screaming Cat, also known as Yamato Cat, refers to a reaction image series of a photoshopped image of a cat crying. This is occasionally featured with the caption "yamero," the Japanese language word for "stop it."

Origin

On August 15th, 2015, Tumblr ^[7] user busket posted several pictures of their black and white cat Inkky. They captioned the post "the struggle." One of the photographs featured the original image of the "Screaming Cat" before being photoshopped. Within four years, the post received more than 10,000 notes (shown below, left).

Three days later, Tumblr^[9] user nicolas-px posted a photoshopped version of Inkky. The post received more than 1,200 notes in less than four years (shown below, right).

Spread

Two years later, on January 15th, 2017, an anonymous 4chan user posted the image on the /v/^[8] message board (shown below).

On January 21st, 2017, the Twitter ^[4] account for ShitpostBot 5000 posted the image of the cat in an image macro template, turning the image into the auto-correct answer for the expression "AAAA." The post received more than 1,800 retweets and 2,800 likes in two years (shown below, left).

The following day, Twitter^[5] user @watery_day tweeted the original image of the cat. They wrote, "this is my cat. literally. her name is inkky and she's 7 years old." The post received more than 5 retweets and 35 likes (shown below, right).

On February 17th, 2017, Redditor ^[1] tylercanda on the /r/dankmemes subreddit posted an image macro of the cat with the caption "When the school shooter gets shot before he can kill you." The post received more than 1,700 points (97% upvoted) and 60 comments in two years (shown below).

Several weeks later, on April 3rd, 2017, FunnyJunk ^[2] camzone used the image as a reaction to a comment. They wrote, "Y-YAMETE!! STOP YOUR FILTHY GAJIN LIES. A-ANATA BAKA *cries in japanese and runs away.*" The post received dmore tahn 30 upvotes in two years (shown below, left).

The following year, on February 14th, 2018, Redditor^[3] Funfoil_Hat posted a variation in the /r/me_irl subreddit, adding the caption "The FBI agent in my computer watching me drink my sixth bottle of ranch." The post received more than 8,100 points (98% upvoted) and 80 comments in one year (shown below, right).

On January 21st, 2019, @watery_day tweeted^[6] the original picture with the caption "this cat here? this crying cat meme? this is my cat! her name is inkky and shes 8 years old!!! i want everyone who uses the meme to know who she is, just like cat no banana/anfisa! her twitter is @its_inkky!" Within one month, the post received more than 25,000 retweets and 55,000 likes (shown below).

Interview with Know Your Meme

On June 25th, 2020, KYM interviewed Kiana McMillian, the owner of Inkky and the cat depicted in the meme, as part of their editorial series that follows up on people featured in prominent memes. In the interview, she shared the backstory of Inkky, how she became a meme and her general thoughts on the phenomenon itself.

Death

On September 27th, 2020, Inkky's owner Kiana McMillian posted a tweet announcing her death and said that she passed away after cancer spread to her chest.

“Inkky passed away today at about 3:00 pm. She was humanely euthanized after the cancer in her chest began to interfere too much with her bodily functions. She was peaceful and relaxed, she died with my arms around her and my mom beside me; her two favorite people. I'm relieved that she's no longer suffering, no longer starving or weak, but I'm devastated to lose her and I'll miss her so dearly. Inkky has been with me for the past 11 years, through the hardest times of my life. She's always been a diva and a princess, she's never been afraid to tell me how she really feels. She had an aloof, pampered exterior but inside she was just the sweetest, most gentle and affectionate cat to those who knew her best. She fought so hard until the very end, she was so, so brave and so strong, I'm so proud of her.”

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References