About
The Thumbs Up Crying Cat, often referred to as Thumbs Up Sad Cat, is a popular reaction image featuring a cat with digitally added tearful eyes, giving a thumbs up gesture. This meme, a close relative to the well-known Crying Cat meme, conveys a sense of sadness mixed with forced agreement or reluctant acceptance, perfectly encapsulated by the juxtaposed tears and thumbs up. While crying cat images have circulated online since 2014, the specific Thumbs Up Crying Cat iteration emerged in June 2019 and quickly gained traction across platforms like Reddit and Twitter, becoming a staple in internet communication.
Origin Story
The earliest known form of this meme appeared on August 26, 2017, when a user on Discord shared it in the JabGood server. This initial version was designated with the emote name “JabGood.”
Discord emote "JabGood" featuring a crying cat giving a thumbs up.
Leading up to this, variations of crying cat images, simply showing cats with teary eyes, started appearing online. One of the earlier examples was posted on November 11, 2017.
Early crying cat image, depicting a cat with teary, glassy eyes.
However, the definitive Thumbs Up Crying Cat image that went viral was posted on Reddit by user IAMAdumbgirl on June 17, 2019, in the r/sadcats subreddit. The image was simply captioned “sad thumbs up”[2]. This post resonated strongly with the Reddit community, amassing over 1,700 upvotes (with a 99% approval rate) within a year, marking the true beginning of its widespread use.
The original "sad thumbs up" Reddit post featuring the Thumbs Up Crying Cat meme.
The Precursor: Crying Cat Meme
It’s important to acknowledge the predecessor to Thumbs Up Crying Cat: the Crying Cat meme itself, also known as Schmuserkadser. This meme utilizes photoshopped images of cats with overly tearful, glassy eyes to evoke sadness. The Crying Cat’s earliest documented appearance was on June 11, 2014, by an anonymous user on Meme Generator [1]. Notably, the Crying Cat image is a manipulated version of the Serious Cat meme, sharing the same background, ear positioning, and cat color. Within four years of its emergence, the Crying Cat meme spawned over 925 derivative images, demonstrating its initial popularity and influence.
Serious Cat meme, the original image before being photoshopped into Crying Cat.
Widespread Adoption
The Thumbs Up Crying Cat meme truly took off in April 2020, becoming a prevalent reaction image across both Twitter and Reddit. A significant instance occurred on April 18th, when Twitter user @SaoryEmanoelle[3] replied to a tweet by @RespectfulMemes about one-sided affection with the reaction image, adding the caption, “They not thinking about us though lmao.”
Twitter example of Thumbs Up Crying Cat used as a reaction to a post about unrequited feelings.
On June 22nd, Redditor edmemesthrowawaybby utilized the image on r/EDanonymemes[4] with the caption: “When you’re chilling with your BF and he asks if you’re good but all you can think about is how fat your thighs look when you cuddle.” This post also gained traction, receiving over 200 upvotes with a perfect 100% upvote rate.
Reddit example of Thumbs Up Crying Cat used to express internal insecurity despite external affirmation.
Later in July 2020, the meme surged in popularity within the r/dankmemes community. On July 27th, Redditor mijuzz7 posted a captioned meme using Thumbs Up Crying Cat on r/dankmemes[5], which rapidly accumulated over 47,000 upvotes (96% approval) within just three days, solidifying its place in mainstream meme culture.
Dankmemes example of Thumbs Up Crying Cat used in a gaming context to express resigned disappointment.
Diverse Applications
The Thumbs Up Crying Cat meme’s versatility is evident in its wide range of applications. It’s used to react to situations ranging from minor inconveniences to deeper emotional responses, always with the underlying tone of sadness combined with forced positivity.
Twitter example of Thumbs Up Crying Cat used to express sadness about a personal situation.
Meme example of Thumbs Up Crying Cat used to express frustration with a broader societal issue.
Meme example of Thumbs Up Crying Cat used to express mild jealousy or playful sadness.
Meme example of Thumbs Up Crying Cat used to express reluctant acceptance of a necessary but disliked situation.
Twitter example of Thumbs Up Crying Cat used in a humorous context about online giveaways.
Meme example of Thumbs Up Crying Cat used as a general reaction to express quiet suffering or resignation.
Search Interest
[Search interest data section from original article, if applicable, would be inserted here. If not available, consider mentioning general popularity based on social media presence.]
External References
[1] Meme Generator – Crying Cat
[2] Reddit – r/sadcats
[3] Twitter – SaoryEmanoelle
[4] Reddit – r/EDanonymemes
[5] Reddit – r/dankmemes
