Sad Gaming Cat — Side-by-side banner of a crying kitten and a non-crying kitten resting paws on a white Xbox 360 controller.

Sad Gaming Cat

2013reaction imageclassic

Published October 27, 2026

Sad Gaming Cat, also known as Cat On Xbox, is a reaction image showing a kitten with its paws on an Xbox 360 controller while a man in a yellow Space Invaders shirt lounges behind it. Jonathan Cruz uploaded the original photo to Cutest Paw in November 20121, and by February 2013 captioned macro versions started circulating on sites like Funsted and Memecenter2. The format gained a second life in 2019 when Redditors photoshopped the Crying Cat face onto the kitten, with one version hitting over 103,000 upvotes on r/dankmemes4.

cats gaming reaction memes image macro memes delayed virality memes

Overview

Posts in this format usually revolve around online gaming scenarios, with text positioned above and below the kitten in standard image macro style2. Captions cast the cat as a lonely or defeated gamer whose friends never want to play with them, or as the target of insults from strangers in matchmaking lobbies. Both the plain photo and the Crying Cat edit circulate side by side3.

The photoshopped variant layers the teary face from the Crying Cat meme over the kitten's head, giving it an exaggerated sad expression that fits captions about rejection or isolation in multiplayer games3. Earlier 2013 versions used the original kitten face and leaned into general gaming humor, like a July 2013 Memecenter post titled 'So That's Who It Is' that saw 1,803 likes2.

Origin & Background

Platform
Cutest Paw / Reddit (2019 viral spread)
Date
2013

The original photo came from Jonathan Cruz, who uploaded it to Cutest Paw on November 25, 2012 under the title 'My friend's kitten chilling with some xbox'1. His image showed a kitten with both paws resting on an Xbox 360 controller while a man in a yellow Space Invaders shirt lounged behind it on the couch7.

A reverse image search on Tineye traced the first captioned meme using this photo to the now-defunct Funsted.com, with an upload date of February 16, 20138. Shortly after, Memecenter user cuteasfuck uploaded another macro version on July 28, 2013 titled 'So That's Who It Is,' which brought in 1,803 likes and 32 comments2.

How It Spread

After its 2013 origins on obscure meme sites, Sad Gaming Cat sat quiet for several years before returning to prominence through Reddit edits in 2019. On June 10, 2019, Redditor bazang_ posted the first known photoshopped version featuring the Crying Cat face to r/sadcats, where it collected over 1,400 upvotes and 20 comments3.

A since-deleted Redditor took the format to a wider audience on August 4, 2019 with a post to r/dankmemes that was upvoted more than 103,000 times and received multiple Reddit awards4. Just over two weeks later, user Haaisee posted another example to r/gaming on August 19, 2019 under the title 'I'll be missing you,' which saw more than 78,000 upvotes and 953 comments5.

Imgur user peddlerofmemes uploaded a variant on September 25, 2019 that drew nearly 85,000 views, 2,200 points and 244 comments on the site6. By the end of that summer, Sad Gaming Cat had settled into the shared cat meme rotation alongside Crying Cat and Sad Cat.

Timeline

2012-11-25

Jonathan Cruz uploads the original photo of a kitten with an Xbox 360 controller to Cutest Paw under the title 'My friend's kitten chilling with some xbox.'

2013-02-16

The first known captioned meme using the photo is posted to Funsted.com, later identified via Tineye reverse image search.

2013-07-28

Memecenter user cuteasfuck posts a macro version titled 'So That's Who It Is,' earning 1,803 likes and 32 comments.

2019-06-10

Redditor bazang_ posts the first photoshopped version with the Crying Cat face to r/sadcats, collecting over 1,400 upvotes.

2019-08-04

A since-deleted Redditor's r/dankmemes post goes over 103,000 upvotes with multiple Reddit awards.

2019-08-19

Redditor Haaisee posts 'I'll be missing you' to r/gaming, receiving over 78,000 upvotes and 953 comments.

2019-09-25

Imgur user peddlerofmemes uploads a variant that draws nearly 85,000 views and 2,200 points.

How to Use This Meme

To make a Sad Gaming Cat post, people typically start with either the original 2012 photo of the kitten with its Xbox 360 controller or the Crying Cat photoshopped variant3. Captions commonly address being ignored by friends in multiplayer lobbies, getting insulted by strangers online, or feeling alone during a gaming session. Top and bottom text follows the standard image macro layout, though plain-image reposts with a title caption are also common7.

Frequently Asked Questions