Where Did The 'Cheeseburger Wah' Meme Come From? The 'Here Kitty You Can Has Cheeseburger' Video Explained

The days of "I can haz cheezeburger" and LOLspeak memes may be having a cultural resurgence with the new "Cheeseburger Wah" meme that's been taking over TikTok. The video of a wide-eyed cat appearing to snap at a whole cheeseburger is often reposted and remixed on TikTok using audio from the video game Postal.

But where did this video come from, and does it show internet cats possibly reentering their cheeseburger-obsessed eras again? Here's everything you need to know about the Cheeseburger Wah cat.

Where Does The Video Of The 'Cheeseburger Wah' Cat Come From?

The earliest known video of a cat going wide-eyed, or maybe even gagging, as he appears to snap at a cheeseburger was first posted to TikTok on January 11th, 2022. But the video may have been posted to Chinese social media sites even before this date.

Nearly two years later, TikToker @cinnabunnnny posted a video replacing the audio from the clip with one of the The Postal Dude saying, "Here kitty, you can has cheeseburger."

How Did The Cheeseburger Wah Cat Become A Meme?

In early December 2023, internet users began posting remixed versions of the Cheeseburger Wah video, speeding it up and adding effects to the footage. These videos gathered millions of views and effectively kicked off the Wah Cat trend.

As with any meme video that suddenly goes viral online, animators hopped on the trend to recreate the scene frame by frame and even insert their own characters into the meme.

For the full history of Cheeseburger Wah, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.