Grade C6 sourcesHIS-01038
Grumpy Cat
Meme & format · 2012 · Niche
A family cat's first YouTube video drew more than 1.5 million views in 36 hours.
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How it worksNumbers
- First YouTube video; first 36 hours, owner report
- 1.5M
- YouTube · Self-reported · Grumpy Cat
- Seed to milestone
- 5 months
- Sep 23 ’12 to Mar 9 ’13
- Platforms
- 6
- Started on Reddit
- Origin
- Organic
- Culture (no sector)
Mechanics
How it spread
Trace the originFamily photos on Reddit became a remix thread: Camblor and WhipIash linked photo edits while other replies linked caption generators. Videos, a website and merchandise followed; SXSW visitors later queued to meet Grumpy Cat.
Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.
6 more events on this chart
Join free to see themTimeline (9)
Changelogupdated Oct 16 ’26
- Added: 9 events, 5 sources · Score 20
Spread the same way
New cases, every week
How the next thing spread, the week it does.