Cat With Apples

Submission 9,194

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

About

Cat With Apples, also known as Apple Cat, refers to multiple photos of a white cat holding apples, varying from one apple to two apples, as well as other fruits like oranges and limes. The photos spread on social media sites like Twitter / X in early 2024, originally coming from videos on the TikTok account Good night_Meow (@goodnight.meowstar). The images trended with captions that ironically complained about "His greed," exemplified by the two apples, such as "His Greed Sickens Me" and "His Greed Was His Downfall."

Origin

On October 10th, 2023, TikToker^[1] @goodnight.meowstar posted their first video featuring a kitten holding an apple, gaining over 8,600 plays and 1,000 likes in three months. On the next day, October 11th, the account posted another TikTok^[2] with a kitten holding an apple, this time gaining over 117,000 plays and 32,300 likes in three months (shown below, left).

On October 14th, 2023, TikToker^[3] @goodnight.meowstar posted another video of a kitten holding an apple, gaining over 974,300 plays and 276,300 likes in three months, becoming the account's first largely viral video (shown below, right). In the video's description, the TikToker said the cat's name is Hong Guoguo.

The TikToker also posts to the Chinese social media app Bilibili.^[13]

The thumbnail for the aforementioned TikTok^[3] (shown below) later became the first photo of the Cat With Apples to gain usage in memes. For instance, on October 23rd, 2023, Instagram^[4] user @clinkyxmemes posted the thumbnail, gaining roughly 1,300 likes in three months. The image was reposted by Instagram^[5] user @cattos.reposted on November 1st, gaining over 27,700 likes in three months.

The first known usage of the thumbnail in a variant meme is a video posted by TikToker^[8] @dgcatarchive on October 16th, 2023, who added the image to an exploitable video template listing off crimes against humanity. Over three months, it received roughly 3.5 million plays and 588,700 likes (shown below).

Spread

On November 2nd, 2023, Tumblr ^[6] user 21stcenturyschizoidfag posted one of the first known memetic usages of the thumbnail, writing, "they are dear dear friends," after pairing Hong Guoguo with another cat holding a peach, gaining over 5,000 notes in two months (shown below, left).

On November 8th, 2023, Tumblr^[7] user cheddar-baby posted a Photoshopped version of the thumbnail that added a smile to the cat's face, gaining over 24,300 notes in two months (shown below, right). The smiling version of the image received mass usage in memes going forward.

For instance, a viral repost of the smiling version was posted by Instagram^[9] user @necocatt on December 12th, 2023, gaining over 42,000 likes in one month. Then, on December 16th, 2023, X^[10] user @chaoticgirl777 posted the smiling version, captioned, "can i come over and stare at u like this," earning over 26,000 likes in one month (shown below).

On January 11th, 2024, X^[11] user @realofficalyosh posted a new image of the cat holding two apples, captioning it with the Society: Ok phrasal template. The tweet received roughly 11,000 likes in 20 days (shown below, left). The cat holding two apples image (shown below, right) was from a video posted by TikToker^[12] @goodnight.meowstar on December 27th, 2023.

His Greed Sickens Me

On January 12th, 2024, X^[14] user @skramzicidal posted both aforementioned images, captioned, "the appel is increasing," gaining over 28,000 likes in 19 days (shown below, left).

On January 13th, 2024, X^[15] user @cabby quoted @skramzicidal, writing, "did Anyone check if this is even allowed," receiving over 87,000 likes in 18 days. Then, on January 13th, X^[16] user @jumperr101 replied, "His greed sickens me he does not need two apples," gaining over 7,300 likes in 18 days. A screenshot of the thread (shown below, right) gained over 92,100 likes in 13 days when Instagram^[17] user @catcatlettuce posted it on January 18th.

On January 23rd, 2024, X^[18] user @ShootaCat also reposted the screenshot, gaining over 107,000 likes in eight days.

Going into late January 2024, images of the Cat With Apples continued to reference the "His Greed Sickens Me" catchphrase. For instance, on January 29th, 2024, X^[19] user @ascent5340 posted a new photo of the cat with two green apples on his head, captioned, "his greed is consuming him." The post received over 51,000 likes in two days (shown below).