Crying Cat

Sometime around 2014, someone photoshopped human tears and watery eyes onto a cat photo. The result was deeply cursed—and deeply relatable.

Crying Cat (also known as Schmuserkadser) became the internet's mascot for performative sadness, ironic despair, and the specific flavor of melancholy that comes from being Extremely Online. The image spread across Tumblr and Twitter, spawning countless variations: thumbs-up crying cat, crying cat with a gun, crying cat giving a presentation. Each one funnier and sadder than the last.

What makes it work is the uncanny valley of feline emotion. Cats don't cry like this. Cats don't feel like this. And yet, looking at Crying Cat, you understand completely. It's you when the code won't compile. It's you reading the news. It's you, always.

A decade later, Crying Cat persists as the reaction image for when you need to express devastation but also don't want anyone to take you seriously. The tears are fake. The sadness is real. The meme is eternal.