Cat joke memes are the most reliable comedy format on the internet, and almost nobody who shares them knows where they came from. This page covers the big formats properly the actual documented origin of the woman yellingatacat meme, the reaction formats people search for by name, and a set of cat jokes written specifically to work as captions. It finishes with the part most meme pages skip entirely what you can and cannot legally reuse.

Why Cats Dominate Meme Culture

Cats have an advantage no other subject has their faces produce expressions that read as human emotions they are almost certainly not feeling. A cat looking away from a plate of vegetables is not disgusted, it simply does not want the vegetables. But it reads as withering contempt, and that gap between what is happening and what it looks like is the entire engine of the format.

• Cat faces read as human emotions they are not actually having
• The gap between reality and appearance is inherently funny
• Their expressions are legible without any caption at all
• Indifference is a universally recognisable comic stance
• Cats never look like they are trying, which is the joke
• No permission, styling or cooperation is required from the subject

Woman Yelling at a Cat The Full Origin

This is the format people mean when they search for the Karen cat meme, and the real story is far more interesting than the meme suggests. It is a two panel image. The left panel shows a tearful, pointing woman. The right panel shows a small white cat sitting behind a plate of salad, looking unimpressed. The two halves came from completely different places, years apart, and had nothing to do with each other.

• A two panel side by side reaction format
• Left panel a woman crying and pointing accusingly
• Right panel a white cat at a dinner table, unbothered
• The two images originated separately and years apart
• It became one of the defining meme formats of 2019
• It won Meme of the Year at the 12th Shorty Awards

Where Each Half Came From

The woman is Taylor Armstrong, from a second season episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, with costar Kyle Richards holding her back. The cat is Smudge, whose photograph was first posted on Tumblr in June 2018, sitting at a table in front of vegetables he clearly had no interest in. Smudge’s owner later built an Instagram following on the strength of that single expression, and the account now has over a million followers.

• The woman Taylor Armstrong, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, season two
• The second woman costar Kyle Richards, restraining her
• The cat Smudge, photographed at a dinner table
• Smudge’s photo was posted to Tumblr in June 2018
• The caption referred to his dislike of vegetables
• Smudge’s Instagram account passed a million followers

Who Actually Combined Them

The pairing is credited to a Twitter user posting under the handle MISSINGEGIRL, on 1 May 2019, with a caption saying the two photos together were making them lose it. That single post drew tens of thousands of retweets and hundreds of thousands of likes, and the format spread across the wider internet through midJune 2019.

• First paired on Twitter on 1 May 2019
• Credited to the account MISSINGEGIRL
• The caption simply noted the two images together were unbearable
• The original post drew over 70,000 retweets
• The format spread widely from midJune 2019
• Neither image was created for meme use

How to Use the Format

The structure is fixed and that is why it works. The left panel is whoever is angry, accusatory or emotionally invested. The right panel is whoever is confused, unbothered or wrongly accused. Some versions add the third figure as a mediator trying to calm the situation down.

• Left the party who is worked up or accusing
• Right the party who does not understand the fuss
• Optional third figure someone attempting to mediate
• Pick scenarios with two clearly opposed positions
• It works without text, which is rare for a meme format
• Keep labels short the images carry most of the meaning

The Context Worth Knowing

One thing rarely mentioned alongside this meme is that the original scene came from a genuinely difficult period in Taylor Armstrong’s life. She has spoken publicly and at length about experiencing domestic abuse, and the moment frozen into the meme was captured during that time. She has since engaged with the meme goodhumouredly, including posing with fans who dressed as it. It does not make the format unusable she herself has embraced it but it is worth knowing that the image was not staged comedy.

• The scene came from a distressing period in Armstrong’s life
• She has spoken publicly about experiencing domestic abuse
• The moment was not staged or performed for comedy
• Armstrong has since engaged with the meme warmly
• Most meme formats have a context nobody looks up
• Knowing it does not prohibit use it just changes how you use it

Am I a Joke to You?

This is a reaction format rather than a single image, and it is frequently paired with a cat looking directly at the camera. It is used when something obvious has been overlooked a list that omits the most obvious entry, a group photo missing one person, a conversation where someone has been forgotten. The cat is the overlooked party, and the flat stare does the work.

• A reaction format expressing being overlooked or forgotten
• Frequently paired with a cat staring directly at the camera
• Used when something obvious has been left out
• The cat represents whoever was ignored
• Works best when the omission is genuinely glaring
• No caption is needed beyond the phrase itself

The LaughingatYourOwnJoke Format

Two closely related searches cover the same idea a cat that appears to be laughing, used to represent the teller enjoying their own joke considerably more than anyone else did. It is one of the most self aware formats in circulation, and its appeal is that everyone has been that person.

• Represents laughing at your own joke while nobody else does
• Usually a cat with an open mouth or squinted eyes
• Often paired with a second panel of an unimpressed audience
• Works as a caption on your own bad pun
• Selfdeprecating, which is why it rarely offends anyone
• Best used immediately after telling a genuinely poor joke

Cat Jokes That Work as Meme Captions

A meme caption is a different job from a spoken joke it has to work silently, in under twelve words, next to an image. These are written for exactly that.

• What do you call a pile of kittens? A meowntain.
• Why was the cat sitting on the laptop? Keeping an eye on the mouse.
• What’s a cat’s favourite colour? Purrple.
• Why don’t cats play poker in the jungle? Too many cheetahs.
• My cat has two settings asleep and offended.
• I asked my cat for feedback. It left the room.
• What do you call a cat that always gets its way? Purrsuasive.
• Why did the cat run from the tree? It was afraid of the bark.
• Cats the only houseguests who never leave and never contribute.
• What do you call a cat who joins the emergency services? A first aid kit.

Chemistry and Science Cat Memes

A specific search asks for chemistry cat memes, and almost all of them are about one thing Schrödinger’s cat, the thought experiment in which a cat in a sealed box is neither alive nor dead until observed. It is the most memefriendly idea in physics because the joke writes itself in one line.

• Schrödinger’s cat walks into a bar. And doesn’t.
• Schrödinger’s cat memes are simultaneously funny and not funny.
• What’s a chemist’s favourite pet? A catalyst.
• I’d tell you a Schrödinger joke, but you might not get it until you check.
• The experiment is a thought experiment no cats were ever involved
• These land best with an audience that already knows the reference

Cat Scan and Vet Jokes

The CAT scan pun is the most repeated cat joke in any medical context, and it turns up as a meme caption constantly. It works because the medical abbreviation genuinely is CAT computed axial tomography which makes the pun accidental rather than forced.

• How do vets check on cats? With a CAT scan.
• Why did the cat go to hospital? It needed a CAT scan.
• The abbreviation genuinely stands for computed axial tomography
• The pun is a real coincidence, not a stretch
• Works as a caption on any photo of a cat in a carrier
• Reliably the first joke any vet hears from a client

How to Make Your Own Cat Joke Meme

Making your own beats forwarding an existing one, and it takes about two minutes. The photograph does most of the work, so choosing it well matters more than writing a clever caption.

• Use your own cat photo the expression matters more than quality
• Pick a moment where the cat looks unimpressed or caught out
• Put the setup on top and the punchline underneath
• Keep each line under twelve words so it reads on a phone
• Use white block text with a dark outline for any background
• Do not explain the joke in the caption underneath
• Post it without a preamble a meme that needs introducing is not finished

What You Can and Can’t Legally Reuse

This is the part meme pages skip, and it matters if you are posting for a business rather than a personal account. Personal, noncommercial sharing of memes is broadly tolerated and rarely challenged. Commercial use is a different matter entirely.

• Photos of your own cat are yours to use freely
• Television screenshots remain the property of the broadcaster
• A viral photo still belongs to whoever took it
• It’s a meme is not a legal defence for commercial use
• Brands have been challenged over meme use before
• For business accounts, use original photography or licensed stock
• Some meme subjects licence their images officially check first

The Practical Rule

If you are posting from a personal account for fun, the realistic risk is close to zero. If you are posting from a brand account, monetising the post, or putting the image on merchandise, use something you own or something you have licensed. That single distinction covers almost every situation.

• Personal, noncommercial posting low practical risk
• Brand accounts and advertising use owned or licensed images
• Merchandise and print always licensed, no exceptions
• Your own cat solves every version of this problem
• When unsure, take the photo yourself

Jump into Other Related Article

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• Animal Jokes: Funny Animal Jokes That Will Make You Laugh

Conclusion

Cat joke memes work because a cat’s face suggests an emotion it is definitely not having, and that gap needs no caption to be funny. The formats worth knowing are the twopanel woman yelling atacat, the overlooked am I a joke to you stare, and the laughing cat for your own bad puns. Learn where the first one actually came from, because knowing that a meme was assembled from two unrelated photographs a year apart is more interesting than the meme itself. Then take a photo of your own cat looking disappointed in you, which is the only image you will ever need.

• Cat faces suggest emotions they are not having that is the joke
• The two panel format came from two unrelated photos, a year apart
• Captions must work silently in under twelve words
• Use your own cat photos for anything commercial