# Standing Cat Standing Cat is a viral 2009 YouTube clip of a French tabby named Rocky rising onto his hind legs on a bed, staring at something outside the frame while Yoko Kanno's 'Cats on Mars' plays. Uploaded by DaisYannou in November 2009, the 37-second video crossed over from French Facebook to the global web in April 2010, becoming an early anchor of the bipedal-cat video genre and inspiring costume Photoshops and a CGI Puss in Boots remix by Freddie Wong. ## Origin On November 6, 2009, French YouTuber DaisYannou uploaded a 37-second clip of her tabby Rocky standing on his hind legs on a bed, staring at something off camera[5]. Rocky was two years old at the time, and Daisy said she and co-owner Yann never trained him to stand, he just did it on his own to look at birds outside the window[3]. She dubbed the video with Yoko Kanno's 'Cats on Mars,' the track that gives the clip its now-signature bounce[2]. The upload sat quietly at first, circulating among Daisy's French Facebook friends rather than any English-speaking meme circuit[1]. It only broke out four months later, once the link jumped platforms. - **Platform:** YouTube (source) / Facebook and BuzzFeed (viral spread) - **Creator:** DaisYannou (Daisy) - **Date:** 2009 ## Overview Standing Cat is the nickname given to Rocky, a two-year-old French tabby who stands flat on his hind legs like a small furry person watching TV. The bit that made the clip travel is how casual he looks doing it, plus the twitch of his front right paw partway through, which reads on camera almost like a hand gesture[1]. Set to Yoko Kanno's dreamy 'Cats on Mars' from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, the whole thing plays less like a pet video and more like a mini music video[2]. Rocky's owner Daisy later explained the behavior was mundane: he could not see the birds and passing dogs through the window from a normal cat height, so he propped himself up to get a better view[3]. Once his owners rearranged the furniture, he mostly stopped doing it[3]. That gap between the ordinary reason and the very human-looking pose is what fueled the remix wave, with editors Photoshopping capes, mariachi outfits and character costumes onto him[4]. Standing Cat also became shorthand for a wider bipedal-cat video genre. Editors at Urlesque used Rocky as the anchor for a roundup of ten other cats caught doing the same thing, with some clips traced back to Japanese TV segments from 2006[1]. ## How to Use There is no real template beyond sharing or remixing the original clip. Common conventions include Photoshopping outfits and props onto Rocky mid-stand, dropping him into scenes from movies or games, and swapping the soundtrack while keeping the deadpan bipedal pose. It also often gets cited as the reference point whenever a new bipedal-cat video goes viral. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Standing Cat? Standing Cat is a viral YouTube video of a French tabby named Rocky standing upright on his hind legs on a bed, dubbed over with Yoko Kanno's 'Cats on Mars'[5]. ### Where did Standing Cat come from? French YouTuber DaisYannou uploaded the 37-second clip on November 6, 2009, filming her cat Rocky in her home[5]. ### What does Standing Cat mean? It is shorthand for a cat caught in a very human-looking bipedal pose, with Rocky's clip acting as the reference point for the wider bipedal-cat video genre[1]. ### How do you use Standing Cat? People typically share the original clip, Photoshop outfits or props onto Rocky mid-stand, or use it as the go-to comparison whenever a new bipedal-cat video appears[1]. ### Is Standing Cat still popular? It is a classic 2010-era animal video rather than an active format; the YouTube upload passed 7.2 million views over roughly eight years and Freddie Wong's Puss in Boots remix reached about 5 million by late 2012[1]. ## References 1. [https://boingboing.net/2010/04/09/everything-you-must.html]() 2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lJ-v-Ex58w]() 3. [http://www.lepost.fr/article/2010/04/09/2025717_video-du-chat-qui-se-tient-debout-il-s-appelle-rocky-et-il-sait-aussi-s-assoir.html]() 4. [http://www.urlesque.com/2010/04/07/our-favorite-standing-cats/]() 5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVV_HXtEbLo]() 6. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/standing-cat]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/standing-cat Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library