# Kitler > Kitler is a 2006 photo meme from CatsThatLookLikeHitler.com, created by Koos Plegt and Paul Neve, featuring black-and-white cats whose dark nose patches resemble Adolf Hitler's toothbrush mustache. Kitler is a nickname for cats whose black-and-white fur markings give them an unintentional resemblance to Adolf Hitler, most notably a dark patch under the nose mimicking his toothbrush mustache. The term, a blend of "kitten" and "Hitler," gained widespread attention in 2006 when Dutch journalist Koos Plegt and British web developer Paul Neve launched CatsThatLookLikeHitler.com, a user-submission site that collected thousands of photos. The meme sits at a specific intersection of internet cat culture and absurdist humor, turning one of history's most reviled figures into an object of ridicule through house pets. ## Origin The story starts in Zwolle, a mid-sized city in the Netherlands. Sometime in early 2006, Dutch journalist Koos Plegt spotted a cat in his hometown with a very specific mustache-shaped marking under its nose[1]. The encounter struck him as hilarious enough to share. He set up a simple blog where friends could post their own snapshots of local "feline Führers"[1]. The project was meant as a joke between pals. Then Paul Neve, a British web developer, stumbled on Plegt's blog and nearly fell off his chair laughing. He contacted Plegt about turning the blog into a full collaborative website[2]. The result, CatsThatLookLikeHitler.com, went live on June 26, 2006[5]. Users could submit photos of their cats, rate existing entries, and comment on how authentically Hitlerian each feline looked. The site was entirely custom-coded by Neve, with no off-the-shelf blogging software involved[2]. Within weeks, the term "Kitler" entered the internet vocabulary. Urban Dictionary got its first definition on July 20, 2006[9]. - **Platform:** Koos Plegt's blog (original concept), CatsThatLookLikeHitler.com (viral spread) - **Creator:** Koos Plegt (original blog creator), Paul Neve (website co-founder and developer) - **Date:** 2006 ## Overview A Kitler is any domestic cat, usually piebald or tuxedo, whose coat pattern produces features resembling Adolf Hitler. The most common marker is a rectangular black patch of fur under the nose that looks like a toothbrush mustache. Some Kitlers also sport a diagonal dark patch on the forehead that mimics Hitler's side-swept fringe. According to the official CatsThatLookLikeHitler.com FAQ, a genuine Kitler needs more than just "that typically feline facial expression that implies a secret longing for world domination." The site looked for the mustache, the hair, maybe "an evil glint in its eye," or a cat "Sieg Miaowing their paw all the way to their dinner plate"[2]. The markings are entirely natural. Piebald cats get their coat patterns from the white spotting gene (also called the KIT gene), which affects how melanocytes, the cells responsible for pigmentation, migrate during fetal development[13]. When pigment cells stall near the nose, they leave a small dark island on an otherwise white face. It's a random biological quirk, not a cosmic joke, though the internet treated it as both[13]. ## How It Spread The site spread fast through the mid-2000s blogosphere. Plegt's original blog was shared on Geek Culture Forums, MetaFilter, I Am Bored, and Fresh Pics[5]. After the proper domain launched, links popped up on art blog Meathaus, StumbleUpon, and web culture blog The Churning[5]. Tech blogger John C. Dvorak gave it his "Dubious Blog of the Month" tag on June 26, 2006, noting it appeared to mark "the end of civilization as we know it" and darkly joking that it might encourage people to use Sharpie markers on their cats[3]. By January 2007, PopMatters published a substantial essay titled "Mein Kat" that analyzed the site's appeal. Writer Mikita Brottman described how Plegt and Neve "hit upon an odd phenomenon" and noted that the site already featured 752 Kitlers after less than a year, "with new additions uploaded every day"[1]. The essay placed Kitlers within the broader internet cat obsession alongside Cats in Sinks, Stuff on my Cat, and Kittenwar[1]. Television picked up the concept next. In 2009, BBC talk show host Graham Norton browsed the site live on air with his guests[6]. The American debut came in July 2010 when Stephen Colbert mentioned it on The Colbert Report, followed by a CNN segment the very next day[6]. Around the same time, the site got a stealth film reference. In David Fincher's 2010 movie *The Social Network*, during a scene set in 2004, a girl receiving an email about Zuckerberg's new site says she hopes it's another website of "pictures of cats that look like Hitler." IMDB flagged this as a possible anachronism since the website launched in 2006, but noted the concept predated the formal site[12]. ## How to Use The Kitler concept is more of a recognition game than a template meme. The basic idea: 1. Notice your cat (or any cat) has a dark patch of fur under its nose that looks like a toothbrush mustache 2. Optionally, look for bonus features: a side-swept dark patch on the forehead, a stern facial expression, or any pose that looks vaguely authoritarian 3. Photograph the cat and share it with the label "Kitler" ## Cultural Impact The Kitler meme reached mainstream television across multiple countries. The Graham Norton Show featured the website in 2009[6], followed by The Colbert Report and CNN in July 2010[5]. The concept was woven into *The Social Network* as a period-appropriate internet culture reference[12]. PopMatters gave the site one of its most thoughtful analyses, calling it a project that found "precisely the place where cute starts to seem creepy"[1]. The essay noted the paradox at the heart of Kitler humor: the site "hovers on the edge of bad taste without going all the way"[1]. The Luminus adoption story in 2011 demonstrated how the meme could have real-world consequences, both negative (the kitten's initial adoption difficulty) and positive (the massive response that found her a home within a day)[4]. The incident also drew attention to adoption bias against black-and-white cats in shelters[7]. Scientific research added another dimension. Studies from the Universities of Bath and Edinburgh traced the distinctive markings to a defective version of the KIT gene that disrupts melanocyte migration during fetal development[13]. The mathematical models developed to explain these pigment patterns could potentially apply to studying cell movement disorders in other species[13]. ## Fun Facts - The very first Kitler was spotted by Koos Plegt walking through his hometown of Zwolle in the Netherlands. He laughed so hard he had to pick himself up off the floor[2]. - The site's tagline asked visitors: "Does your cat look like Adolf Hitler? Do you wake up in a cold sweat every night wondering if he's going to up and invade Poland?"[14] - John C. Dvorak suspected the site was encouraging people to draw on their cats with Sharpie markers[3]. - The final count on CatsThatLookLikeHitler.com was 8,849 submitted Kitlers before the site went dormant in April 2014[14]. - The toothbrush mustache was originally an American import to Germany in the late 19th century, a bit of "modern efficiency" that replaced the elaborate Kaiser style. Hitler essentially weaponized what started as a fashion trend[11]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Kitler? Kitler is a nickname for cats whose black-and-white fur markings make them look like Adolf Hitler, typically featuring a dark patch under the nose resembling his toothbrush mustache[2]. ### Where did Kitler come from? The concept was popularized in 2006 when Dutch journalist Koos Plegt created a blog after spotting such a cat in Zwolle, Holland. British developer Paul Neve helped turn it into the full website CatsThatLookLikeHitler.com[1]. ### What does Kitler mean? It's a portmanteau of "kitten" and "Hitler," describing any cat that bears an accidental resemblance to the German dictator through its natural fur patterns[9]. ### How do you use Kitler? Spot or photograph a cat with mustache-like markings under its nose and share it with the Kitler label. The humor comes from the absurd visual similarity between a cute pet and a historical tyrant[2]. ### Is Kitler still popular? The original website stopped updating in April 2014 after accumulating 8,849 entries[14]. The concept is widely recognized and people still share Kitler sightings on social media, though the meme's peak viral period was 2006-2011. ### Who created CatsThatLookLikeHitler.com? Koos Plegt, a Dutch journalist, started the original blog. Paul Neve, a British web developer, partnered with him to build the full website, which launched on June 26, 2006[2][5]. ### What happened to the Kitler kitten that couldn't get adopted? In July 2011, a six-week-old kitten named Luminus at Wood Green Animal Shelter was dubbed "Kitler" due to her markings. After media coverage, the shelter received over 500 calls and emails, and she quickly found a home[4]. ### Was CatsThatLookLikeHitler.com on TV? Yes. It was featured on the BBC's Graham Norton Show in 2009, mentioned on The Colbert Report in July 2010, and covered by CNN the following day[5][6]. ### Why do some cats look like Hitler? The markings result from the white spotting gene (KIT gene), which affects how pigment cells migrate during fetal development. When melanocytes stall near the nose, they create a dark patch on an otherwise white face[13]. ### Is there a Kitler reference in The Social Network? Yes. In a scene set in 2004, a character mentions hoping an email contains "pictures of cats that look like Hitler." IMDB noted the website launched in 2006 but the concept existed before the formal site[12]. ### How many cats were submitted to the Kitler website? The site accumulated 8,849 entries by its last update on April 2, 2014[14]. By February 2013, over 7,500 had been approved[6]. ## References 1. [Becoming Adolf | Vanity Fair]() 2. [Kitten is not short of a home thanks to unusual markings]() 3. [Cats That Look Like Hitler!]() 4. [Kitler - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Cats That Look Like Hitler!]() 6. [Kitler - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [Toothbrush moustache]() 8. [Urban Dictionary: kitler]() 9. [Cats That Look Like Hitler! - Wikipedia]() 10. [Kitlers Cats: Science, Culture and Curiosities about Hitler Cats]() 11. [Hitler Cats (cats that look like Hitler)]() 12. [Cats That Look Like Hitler!]() 13. [Viral – UPROXX]() 14. [Dubious Blog of the Month — Dedicated to Cats that Look Like Hitler « Dvorak News Blog]() 15. [Kitler In Real Life]() 16. [Kitler, Cat Who Looks Like Hitler, Has Trouble Getting Adopted | HuffPost Weird News]() 17. [The Social Network (2010) - Goofs - IMDb]() 18. [Kitler, the kitten who looks like Hitler, finds new home | Metro News]() 19. [Mein Kat » PopMatters]() 20. [News | VH1]() 21. [The Daily What]() 22. [The Kitler Phenomenon: Why We Can’t Stop Looking at Every Cat With Hitler Mustache Markings - Snomoto]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/kitler Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library