MA-0015 · first seen 2 April 2011
Nyan Cat
A pixel cat with a Pop-Tart body flying through space, leaving a rainbow trail, set to an endlessly looping song.
- Status
- ClassicPeaked more than five years ago
- Trend score
- 22/100Estimated
- Change, 90 days
- +1%Estimated
- Peak
- 86Jun 2011
- Years active
- 3Index of 30 or more
- First seen
- 20112 April 2011
Popularity over time
Monthly attention from Apr 2011 to Oct 2026. Hover or tab through the chart for each month.
- First appearance
- Went viral
- Peak
- Decline
Attention index, 0 to 100 on one scale for the whole archive. Estimated from each meme’s key dates, not measured.
About
On 2 April 2011 the artist Christopher Torres, known online as prguitarman, drew a looping animation of a cat with a Pop-Tart for a body. Three days later YouTube user saraj00n paired it with “Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!”, a Vocaloid song by daniwell that had been posted to Niconico in 2010, and uploaded the result as “Nyan Cat”.
The video’s hypnotic, ridiculous loop made it one of the most-watched clips of 2011. It won the Webby Award for Meme of the Year in 2012, led to a copyright lawsuit over its use in a video game in 2013, and in February 2021 an updated version sold as an NFT for 300 ether, worth roughly $587,000 at the time.
Origin
A looping animation drawn by Christopher Torres (prguitarman) on 2 April 2011, combined with a 2010 Vocaloid song on 5 April.
2 April 2011
Viralization
The YouTube upload by saraj00n gathered millions of views within weeks of its release in April 2011.
April 2011
Peak
Estimated peak in mid-2011; it won the Webby Award for Meme of the Year in 2012.
Jun 2011
Timeline
From the first post to where it stands today.
Origin
A cat with a Pop-Tart body
Christopher Torres posts a looping animation of a flying cat with a rainbow trail.
Early adoption
Add a song
saraj00n pairs the animation with “Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!” and uploads it to YouTube.
Viral
Millions of views
Within weeks the video ranks among the most-watched viral clips of the month.
Peak
Everywhere at once
Nyan Cat appears in games, remixes, costumes and merchandise.
Decline
A lawsuit settled
Torres and the creator of Keyboard Cat settle with the makers of Scribblenauts over use of both characters.
Current
Sold as an NFT
An updated version of the animation sells for 300 ether, about $587,000 at the time.
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