Longcat
The impossibly long white cat of mid-2000s imageboards — Photoshop mythology and 'Longcat is long.'
A photo of an unusually long cat stretched and mythologized online. 'Longcat is long' became a deadpan catchphrase; the cat entered imageboard lore alongside Ceiling Cat.
History
Mid-2000s imageboard culture (especially 4chan) elevated Longcat into a Photoshop deity of length; it became one of the internet's most recognized cat memes (Know Your Meme).
Cultural scores
Editorial estimates of cultural weight — Current Popularity tracks how much people are posting about this now, not historical fame.
Current Popularity = how actively people are posting about this today. Influence = lasting footprint. Cringe = online reception. Brainrot = absurdist energy. Scores last reviewed 2026-07-25. How scoring works
Timeline
Mid-2000s
Longcat spreads on imageboards with length photoshops
2007–10
Catchphrase 'Longcat is long' becomes standard
Later
Nostalgia icon of classic cat-meme mythology
Examples
- “Captioning a panorama fail: 'Longcat is long'”
- “Stretching any subject vertically as Longcat homage”
- “Pairing Longcat vs Tacgnol lore jokes”
Media
Longcat — Know Your Meme
Origin and spread documentation.
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/longcat
Related entries
Culturally linked — not random recommendations.
4chan
EventThe anonymous English imageboard that forged Pepe, rickrolls, rage comics, and a huge share of modern meme grammar.
Ceiling Cat
MemeThe cat peeking through a ceiling hole — imageboard god of surveillance jokes and LOLcat theology.
O RLY? Owl
MemeThe snowy owl of deadpan disbelief — 'O RLY?' — early forum sarcasm in one stare.
![Nyan Cat! [Official] — NyanCat channel thumbnail (2011)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2yJgwwDcgV8/hqdefault.jpg)
Nyan Cat
MemeA pixelated cat with a Pop-Tart body flying through space leaving a rainbow trail — pure early-internet whimsy.
Popcat
MemeOatmeal the cat's open-mouth pop — the clicker / GIF meme that became a national spam sport and Twitch emote energy.
Cheems
MemeBalltze the Shiba — Doge's soft-spoken cousin from dogelore who says 'cheemsburbger' and lives for ironic wholesome chaos.
References
Sources behind this entry. Prefer primary reporting and established culture archives over rumor.
- Longcat — Know Your Meme
knowyourmeme.com