MA-0030 · first seen 1 May 2019
Woman Yelling at Cat
A reality TV star pointing in anger on one side, a white cat looking unimpressed at a dinner table on the other.
- Status
- ClassicPeaked more than five years ago
- Trend score
- 41/100Estimated
- Change, 90 days
- +2%Estimated
- Peak
- 80Jun 2019
- Years active
- 8Index of 30 or more
- First seen
- 20191 May 2019
Popularity over time
Monthly attention from May 2019 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 1 May 2019 the Twitter user @MISSINGEGIRL posted a pairing of two unrelated images. On the left was Taylor Armstrong, from the 5 December 2011 episode “Malibu Beach Party from Hell” of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. On the right was Smudge the cat, photographed at a dinner in Ottawa and posted to Tumblr in June 2018 with the caption “I can’t eat vegetables”.
The combination worked because the format is a conversation: someone makes an accusation and someone else, entirely unbothered, refuses to engage. It won Meme of the Year at the 12th Shorty Awards on 3 May 2020 and became the standard way to dramatise a pointless argument.
Origin
A pairing of two unrelated images posted to Twitter by @MISSINGEGIRL on 1 May 2019.
1 May 2019
Viralization
Spread across Twitter and Instagram within days, and onto Reddit and TikTok soon after.
May 2019
Peak
Estimated peak in June 2019.
Jun 2019
Timeline
From the first post to where it stands today.
Origin
A split image
@MISSINGEGIRL posts a woman shouting beside a cat at a table.
Early adoption
A conversation template
Users add accusations on one side and indifference on the other.
Viral
Everywhere in a week
The image is on Twitter, Instagram and Reddit within days.
Peak
Peak argument
Brands, newspapers and parody accounts adopt it.
Decline
Meme of the Year
It wins Meme of the Year at the 12th Shorty Awards.
Current
A staple
Remains a standard way to illustrate an argument going nowhere.
Related memes
Chosen by shared era, category, platform and cultural link.
Drake Hotline Bling
38/100+2%Classic2015Same conversation · Same kind of meme
Distracted Boyfriend
36/100+1%Classic2015Same conversation · Same era
Grumpy Cat
15/1000%Classic2012Same conversation · Same kind of meme
This Is Fine
47/100+7%Rising2013Same conversation · Same kind of meme