Internet meme · Classic

Lolcat

Lolcat is an image macro genre featuring cats with intentionally misspelled, humorous text, a form of image macro and a well-known Internet meme.

First seen: 2006-01-01
Last seen: 2026-10-31
Uses cited: 4
Revision: 2

Where it started

A lolcat (pronounced LOL-kat), or LOLcat, is an image macro of one or more cats. Lolcat images' idiosyncratic and intentionally grammatically incorrect text is known as lolspeak. Lolcat is a compound word of the acronymic abbreviation LOL (laughing out loud) and the word "cat". A synonym for lolcat is cat macro or cat meme, since the images are a type of image macro and also a well-known genre of Internet meme. Lolcats are commonly designed for photo sharing imageboards and other Internet forums.

wikipedia · at 0:00 · 2006-01-01 · the moment

The use timeline

2006-01-01

A collection of humorous image macros featuring cats with misspelled phrases, such as "I Can Has Cheezburger?". The earliest versions of LOLcats appeared on 4chan, usually on Saturdays, which were designated "Caturday", as a day to post photos of cats.

wikipedia · at 0:00 · 2006-01-01 · the moment
2006-01-01

Wikidata Q56: lolcat — image combining a photograph of a cat with subjectively humorous and idiosyncratic text in broken English. First recorded: 2006-00-00T00:00:00Z.

wikidata · at 0:00 · 2006-01-01 · the moment

Examples

CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0). Clancy Ratliff from St. Paul, MN, U.S..

commons · at 0:00 · 2026-10-31 · the moment

How was this page documented?

The entry summarizes cited origins, dated appearances, and community supplied examples. To request a correction or removal, use the report form below.