Cat Distribution System

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Part of a series on Cats. [View Related Entries]

About

Cat Distribution System is a phrase coined by TikToker @hermes.the.cynic to describe the common occurrence of cats entering people's homes and lives unannounced and inadvertently getting adopted. This cliché is an often-discussed aspect of cat ownership, and adds to the narrative that you don't adopt a cat, but rather, it adopts you. The phrase grew popular near the end of 2022 and continued to be used through January 2023.

Background

While adult feral cats are often averse to human contact and difficult to socialize, some stray cats choose to interact with humans in hopes of food, shelter or companionship. "Friendly strays" are more often lost domestic pets, but there are several documented incidents of a stray cat "choosing" or "adopting" an owner, to the point where veterinary websites have released "What To Do" guides in the circumstance where an unknown feline enters your life or home.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Some examples of cats "choosing" their owners can be seen in social media posts, including a December 29th, 2019 post by Redditor /u/fishnpoutine to /r/cats, gathering over 11,000 upvotes in three years (seen below, left),^[4] and a November 23rd, 2020 post by Redditor /u/Dysteech to /r/aww, gathering over 19,000 likes in two years (seen below, right).^[5]

On November 25th, 2022, TikTok^[6] user @hermes.the.cynic posted a video describing what he calls the "Cat Distribution System," which he describes as the process through which the "Universe" delivers kittens to you unasked. The video gathered over 2.4 million plays and 300,000 likes in over a month (seen below).

Spread

On November 25th, 2022, TikToker^[7] @its.a.me.bob posted a video screenrecording the aforementioned video and scrolling to reveal a person who had received a cat through the cat distribution system. The video gathered over 2 million plays and 300,000 likes in over two months (seen below, left). On November 27th, 2022, TikToker^[8] @billyrubino22.4 posted a video duetting Herme's upload and showing his cats, gathering over 1.9 million plays and 170,000 likes in over two months (seen below, right).

On December 28th, 2022, TikToker^[9] @lisaturtletok posted a video using the sound from @hermes.the.cynic's original video to show her cats, gathering over 50,000 plays and 6,000 likes in over two weeks (seen below, left). On January 5th, 2023, TikToker^[10] @daniklaric posted a video claiming to be a beneficiary of the cat distribution system, gathering over 200,000 plays and 40,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).