Most Famous Pets on the Internet: Top 10

The most famous pets on the internet, as of October 2026, include Kabosu the Doge, Grumpy Cat, Keyboard Cat, Maru and Lil Bub, pets who shaped meme culture. Some of them became famous from a single photograph, others from years of patient posting, and a few from a moment their owners never expected anyone to see. What unites them is reach. Each one travelled far beyond the household that loved it, turning into a joke, a mood, a brand or even a currency that strangers on every continent recognise.

This list looks at the ten animals whose fame has proved the most widespread and the most durable. Several of them have died, and their deaths are recorded here plainly, with the dates their families announced. The others are still online, still collecting followers and still being remixed by people who may never know their real names.

How We Ranked These Pets

Fame on the internet is slippery, so the ranking weighs five things together rather than relying on follower counts alone.

• Cultural footprint: how far the animal spread as a meme, a reaction image or a reference used by people who never followed the original account.
• Audience size: documented follower or view totals, using dated figures from Guinness World Records, news reports and public analytics where available.
• Records and honours: Guinness titles, industry awards and other formal recognition.
• Staying power: whether the animal is still widely recognised years after its breakout moment.
• Spin-offs: books, films, advertising deals, products and charity work linked to the pet.

A pet with a modest follower count can still rank highly if its image became part of everyday online language. Equally, a large account with little influence outside its own feed sits lower. Follower numbers change daily, so every figure below carries the date on which it was recorded.

At a Glance

1. Kabosu (Doge)

How It Went Viral

Kabosu's story begins with an ordinary blog. Her owner, a kindergarten teacher named Atsuko Sato, adopted her from an animal shelter in 2008 after the dog's previous home, a puppy mill, was shut down. A shelter volunteer had named her after the kabosu, a small Japanese citrus fruit, and Sato kept the name because she thought the dog's round face suited it. In 2010 she posted a photograph of Kabosu sitting on a sofa, glancing sideways at the camera with raised eyebrows and a half-suspicious, half-amused look.

That sideways glance found its way to Tumblr and Reddit, where users began overlaying it with scattered phrases in brightly coloured Comic Sans: "such wow", "much amaze", "very scare". The broken-English inner monologue became known as Doge, a deliberate misspelling of "dog" that had been floating around online for years. By late 2013 the meme was everywhere, and Know Your Meme named it the top meme of that year.

Life and Personality

Away from the screens, Kabosu lived a quiet life in a small city east of Tokyo. Sato's blog continued to document walks, naps and snacks, and in Japan the pair were known mostly as a pet and owner rather than as a meme. Sato has said she was surprised by many of the edits people made, but she treated the attention with good humour and used it to promote kindness to animals.

Kabosu's health declined in her later years. In December 2022 Sato revealed that the dog had been diagnosed with leukaemia. Kabosu died on the morning of 24 May 2024 at the age of 18, and Sato said she had passed away peacefully while being stroked.

Cultural Impact

No other pet on this list has had a footprint quite like Kabosu's. In December 2013 two software engineers, Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, launched Dogecoin as a joke cryptocurrency with her face as its logo. The joke kept going. Dogecoin surged during the 2021 crypto boom, and in April 2023 Twitter briefly replaced its blue bird with the Doge image for desktop users. In 2021 a non-fungible token of the original photograph sold for about 4 million US dollars, and the name even reached Washington in November 2024, when a US government cost-cutting effort was branded DOGE.

Legacy

Fans raised close to 100,000 US dollars to build a bronze statue of Kabosu, which was unveiled on 2 November 2023 in Sakura Furusato Square, a park she often visited. That date, her birthday, is now celebrated as Doge Day. Sakura later added a manhole cover bearing her image, and the statue remains a pilgrimage spot for visitors from abroad.

Key Figures

• Original photo: posted to Sato's blog in 2010
• Meme breakthrough: 2013, named top meme of the year by Know Your Meme
• Dogecoin launch: December 2013
• NFT sale: about 4 million US dollars in 2021
• Statue unveiled: 2 November 2023, Sakura, Chiba
• Died: 24 May 2024, aged 18

2. Grumpy Cat

How It Went Viral

Grumpy Cat became famous almost overnight. On 22 September 2012 the brother of her owner, Tabatha Bundesen, posted photographs of the cat on Reddit. Within days, people were pairing her scowl with gloomy captions such as "I had fun once. It was awful." The look was not a mood at all. Tardar Sauce had an underbite and a form of feline dwarfism, which gave her short legs and a face that seemed to frown no matter how relaxed she felt.

Life and Personality

Her family described her as calm and affectionate, which made the contrast with her public image even funnier. She shared her home with a brother cat called Pokey, and she travelled to events such as the South by Southwest festival in 2013, where long queues formed for a photograph. A meme manager, Ben Lashes, helped the family handle licensing as the requests multiplied.

Grumpy Cat died on 14 May 2019 from complications of a urinary tract infection, at the age of seven. Her family announced the news three days later, and tributes poured in from news outlets, brands and fans who had used her face to express their own bad days.

Cultural Impact

Few pets have been turned into a business on this scale. In 2013 Friskies named her its official "spokescat". Her first book, Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book, reached the bestseller lists that summer, and a later title, The Grumpy Guide to Life, did the same. A video game followed, and in November 2014 the Lifetime channel aired Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever, with the actress Aubrey Plaza voicing the cat. Coffee drinks, plush toys, calendars and greeting cards carried her face for years.

Legacy

In January 2018 a California jury sided with her owners in a dispute with a beverage company that had overstepped a licensing deal, awarding them about 710,000 US dollars in damages. The case is still cited as a sign of how valuable a meme animal can become. Grumpy Cat's official accounts remain online, and her face is still one of the most recognised reaction images on the web.

Key Figures

• First Reddit post: 22 September 2012
• Friskies spokescat: from 2013
• TV film: Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever, November 2014
• Court award: about 710,000 US dollars in 2018
• Social following: about 8.3 million Facebook likes and 2.5 million on Instagram (June 2023)
• Died: 14 May 2019, aged 7

3. Keyboard Cat

How It Went Viral

Keyboard Cat is the oldest piece of footage on this list. In 1984 the artist Charlie Schmidt filmed his cat Fatso, dressed in a little blue shirt, seemingly tapping out a bouncy melody on a synthesiser. The trick was simple: Schmidt sat out of shot and moved the paws himself. The clip sat on a videotape for more than twenty years until he uploaded it to YouTube in 2007.

The meme arrived in February 2009, when Brad O'Farrell, who worked for an online video channel, asked permission to tack the footage onto a clip of a man falling off an escalator. He titled it "Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat". The idea was perfect for the era of fail videos: whenever someone embarrassed themselves on camera, the cat appeared to play them off stage. Within months there were hundreds of versions.

Life and Personality

Fatso never knew any of this. He died long before the meme took off, although accounts of the year differ: it was reported for years as 1987, while Schmidt's family has since given a later date. Schmidt later adopted a lookalike cat named Bento, who became Keyboard Cat 2.0 and appeared in adverts and television spots until Bento died in March 2018. A third cat, Skinny, took up the role in 2019, and the current performer is called Presley.

Cultural Impact

By the middle of 2009 Keyboard Cat had become shorthand for "this is over, time to go". The comedian Andy Samberg joked at that year's MTV Movie Awards that winners who talked too long would be played off by the cat, and the clip turned up on talk shows and news programmes. Current TV ranked it second on a list of the greatest viral videos.

Legacy

Keyboard Cat helped prove that a meme could be licensed and managed like a character. Schmidt kept control of the footage, sold merchandise and even went to court over unauthorised T-shirts. More than four decades after it was recorded, the original tune remains a go-to punchline online.

Key Figures

• Footage recorded: 1984
• YouTube upload: 2007
• Meme launch: February 2009, "Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat"
• Successors: Bento, Skinny and Presley
• Views: more than 81 million on the original upload by 2025

4. Maru

How It Went Viral

Maru's appeal was gloriously simple. In 2008 his owner began posting short clips of the round, cream-and-grey cat throwing himself into cardboard boxes, then wriggling until he fitted, or did not. A video from October 2008 in which he slid in and out of a series of boxes became one of his signature pieces. There was no talking, no editing tricks and no captions, just a determined cat and a box.

Life and Personality

Maru was patient, curious and very soft, and his videos gave viewers a calm look at daily life in a Japanese home. He shared the screen in later years with a younger cat, Hana, and the pair's quiet routines built a loyal audience across many countries. In the summer of 2025 his owner reported that he had stopped eating, and tests found lung cancer. Maru died on 6 September 2025, a few months after celebrating his 18th birthday.

Cultural Impact

Maru was one of the first pets to show that a YouTube channel could make an animal internationally famous without a meme template. He won the pet category of a Japanese YouTube video awards event several years running, appeared in a 2010 New York Times feature and starred in adverts. A photo book, I Am Maru, was published in 2011.

Legacy

In September 2016 Guinness World Records certified Maru as the animal with the most views on YouTube, with more than 325 million. A beagle named Maymo later overtook him, but Maru's channel kept growing and passed half a billion total views. His box videos are still a standard answer whenever someone asks why cats love boxes.

Key Figures

• First videos: 2008
• Guinness record: most YouTube views for an animal, more than 325 million (22 September 2016)
• Book: I Am Maru, 2011
• Died: 6 September 2025, aged 18, after a lung cancer diagnosis

5. Lil Bub

How It Went Viral

Lil Bub was the smallest kitten of a feral litter found in a tool shed in Indiana. Her owner, the musician and studio owner Mike Bridavsky, took her in and quickly realised she was unusual. She had dwarfism, extra toes and an unusually short lower jaw, which left the tip of her tongue permanently visible. Photographs posted to Tumblr in late 2011 spread to Reddit, and her wide-eyed, startled expression made her an instant favourite.

Life and Personality

Bub also lived with osteopetrosis, a rare bone condition, which meant she needed careful care throughout her life. Her owner shared her treatment openly, and fans followed every update on her mobility and health. She died in her sleep on 1 December 2019 after an aggressive bone infection, at the age of eight.

Cultural Impact

Lil Bub became a celebrity in her own right, with a talk show, Lil Bub's Big Show, and a documentary, Lil Bub and Friendz, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2013 and won its online festival's best feature award. She also appeared on daytime television shows such as The View, released music and inspired scientists, who sequenced her genome and identified the mutation behind her bone condition.

Legacy

Her most important legacy is charitable. Bridavsky said she helped raise more than 700,000 US dollars for animal charities, much of it through Lil Bub's Big Fund, set up with the ASPCA to support pets with special needs. Her story pushed many people to consider adopting animals that shelters often struggle to place.

Key Figures

• Online debut: Tumblr, late 2011
• Documentary: Lil Bub and Friendz, Tribeca, April 2013
• Charity: more than 700,000 US dollars raised for animal welfare
• Facebook: more than 3 million likes
• Died: 1 December 2019, aged 8

6. Smudge

How It Went Viral

Smudge's fame came in two steps. In June 2018 his owner posted a photo of him perched at a dinner table behind a plate of salad, looking deeply disgusted, with the caption "He no like vegetals". The picture circulated quietly for a year. Then, on 1 May 2019, a Twitter user placed it next to a screenshot of a reality TV star shouting and pointing across a table. The pairing looked like an argument between a furious woman and a cat who refused to care.

Life and Personality

The two-panel meme exploded. Within about three months the original tweet had been retweeted more than 78,000 times, and people filled the panels with every possible argument, from sports rivalries to office disputes. Smudge's owner launched an Instagram account for him, where he continued to pose at the table and look unimpressed by human food.

Cultural Impact

The format became one of the defining memes of 2019 and of the decade as a whole. It appeared on protest signs, sports gear and even a Library and Archives Canada post. Time magazine put Smudge at the top of its 2020 list of the best online cats, and the meme won Meme of the Year at the Shorty Awards in May 2020.

Legacy

Smudge shows how quickly fame can arrive for an animal that was never meant to be a star. One awkward dinner photo, combined with an unrelated TV still, gave the internet a template it still uses daily to frame any heated disagreement.

Key Figures

• Original photo: Tumblr, June 2018
• Meme pairing: 1 May 2019
• Instagram: about 1.4 million followers by December 2019
• Honours: top of Time's 2020 online cats list; Shorty Award for Meme of the Year, May 2020

7. Boo

How It Went Viral

Boo's owners gave him a distinctive cut that left his face round and his body fluffy, so he looked almost exactly like a plush toy. His Facebook page began to grow quickly, and in October 2010 a tweet from the pop singer Kesha calling him her new boyfriend sent a wave of new fans his way. Soon the page had millions of likes and Boo was being called the cutest dog in the world.

Life and Personality

Boo lived with another Pomeranian, Buddy, and the pair often appeared together. After Buddy died in 2017, Boo's owners said he developed heart problems. He died in his sleep on 18 January 2019, aged 12, and his family wrote that they believed his heart had broken.

Cultural Impact

Boo was one of the first pets to turn Facebook into a global fan club. A photo book about him was published in 2011 and translated into multiple languages. In 2012 an airline appointed him its official pet liaison,. He was also the subject of a false death rumour in 2012, an early sign of how quickly fake news about animal celebrities could spread.

Legacy

Boo helped show how a single breed's look could become a worldwide visual trend. His page remains a gallery of the era when Facebook was the internet's main stage for pet stars.

Key Figures

• Breakout: October 2010
• Book: 2011, published in several languages
• Airline role: pet liaison, 2012
• Facebook: about 16 million followers
• Died: 18 January 2019, aged 12

8. Jiffpom

How It Went Viral

Jiffpom, usually just called Jiff, combined a tiny orange frame with a surprising talent: he could run on his hind legs and on his front paws. In 2014 Guinness World Records confirmed that he had covered 10 metres on his back legs in 6.56 seconds and 5 metres on his front legs in 7.76 seconds. The same year he appeared in Katy Perry's music video for Dark Horse, which pushed his Instagram audience sharply upward.

Life and Personality

Jiff's feed is a steady stream of costumes, tiny outfits, travel photos and short videos of him trotting upright. He moved from Illinois to Los Angeles in 2013 and has since worked with many brands. In February 2025 he marked his 15th birthday, a strong age for a toy breed.

Cultural Impact

In April 2019 Guinness named Jiffpom the most-followed dog on Instagram, with just over 9 million followers. He has held that position for years, and his account helped show brands that pet influencers could rival human creators for engagement. His success also inspired countless Pomeranian accounts.

Legacy

Jiffpom is proof that a pet can be famous for a long time without becoming a meme. He has no catchphrase or reaction image, just consistent, cheerful content and a recognisable look.

Key Figures

• Guinness records: 10 m on hind legs in 6.56 seconds; 5 m on front paws in 7.76 seconds (2014)
• Music video: Katy Perry, Dark Horse, 2014
• Instagram: 9,018,251 followers on 29 April 2019; about 9 million in 2025
• Age: turned 15 in February 2025

9. Nala Cat

How It Went Viral

Nala's account grew slowly and steadily rather than in one burst. Her owner adopted her as a kitten from a shelter in California and began sharing photos of her bright blue eyes, oversized expressions and habit of sitting in odd places. As Instagram turned into the main home for pet photography in the mid-2010s, Nala's follower count climbed into the millions.

Life and Personality

Her posts mix close-up portraits, short videos and playful costumes. Her owner has told Guinness World Records that Nala only became the lovable cat fans know after she was adopted and cared for.

Cultural Impact

In 2020 Guinness World Records confirmed Nala as the cat with the most Instagram followers, recording 4,361,519. She has used that platform to encourage adoption, and in 2019 she launched her own cat food brand, Love, Nala. Few pet accounts have turned their reach into a full product line so directly.

Legacy

As of October 2026, analytics service HypeAuditor lists Nala's account at about 4.26 million followers, which means she still sits among the biggest cat accounts in the world. She remains a model for steady, positive pet content tied to shelter adoption.

Key Figures

• Guinness record: most Instagram followers for a cat, 4,361,519 (13 May 2020)
• Current audience: about 4.26 million (HypeAuditor, October 2026)
• Brand: Love, Nala cat food, launched September 2019
• Origin: adopted from a California shelter

10. Doug the Pug

How It Went Viral

Doug's owner began posting him on Instagram in 2014, often dressed as film and music characters. The costumes, the pug's patient face and short comedic videos made him a natural fit for shareable content. Celebrity encounters followed, and a book called Doug the Pug: King of Pop Culture became a bestseller.

Life and Personality

Doug is a laid-back dog who seems happy to sit still for elaborate outfits and sets. His team has used his platform for causes close to his followers, including support for children with cancer through a foundation launched in 2022.

Cultural Impact

Doug won the Animal Star award at the People's Choice Awards in both 2019 and 2020. He appeared in a Katy Perry music video and voiced a character in the 2021 animated film The Mitchells vs. the Machines. Nashville marked Doug the Pug Day on his birthday in 2019, and in 2025 a university awarded him an honorary degree.

Legacy

Doug represents the professional pet influencer era. His content is planned, produced and tied to charity, and he has shown that a pet brand can stretch into film, books and live events.

Key Figures

• Instagram debut: 2014
• Awards: People's Choice Animal Star, 2019 and 2020
• Film role: The Mitchells vs. the Machines, 2021
• Foundation: launched 2022
• Instagram: about 3.9 million in 2021 and about 3.6 million in 2025

Comparison of the Top 10

Honourable Mentions

• Cheems (Balltze): a Shiba Inu from Hong Kong whose photo became a meme template. He died in August 2023.
• Tuna: a Chihuahua and Dachshund mix with a big overbite, known for the "Phteven" meme. He had about 1.9 million Instagram followers in 2025.
• Crusoe the Dachshund: a Canadian dog known for costumes and skits, who won the People's Choice Animal Star award in 2018.
• Henri, le Chat Noir: a black-and-white cat starring in moody, French-language short films. The series won an internet cat video award in 2012.
• Colonel Meow: a Himalayan-Persian mix famous for his glare and for holding the Guinness record for the longest fur on a cat, about 23 cm. He died in 2014.
• Maymo the Lemon Beagle: the beagle who overtook Maru's Guinness YouTube views record in 2018.

What Makes a Pet Go Viral

Looking across these ten animals, several patterns repeat.

A Readable Expression

Grumpy Cat, Kabosu and Smudge all look as if they are thinking something. That makes it easy to put words in their mouths, and remix culture depends on that.

A Distinctive Look

Lil Bub's tongue, Boo's teddy-bear haircut and Maru's round shape made them instantly recognisable in a thumbnail. Vets and welfare groups stress that unusual looks caused by genetic conditions are not something to breed for, and several of these animals needed lifelong care.

A Repeatable Format

Keyboard Cat could be added to any fail video, and Woman Yelling at a Cat works with any argument. A format that people can easily copy spreads much faster than a single funny photo.

Steady Owners

The long-running stars, such as Jiffpom, Nala and Doug, all have owners who post regularly, protect their animals' welfare and treat the account as a long-term project.

A Purpose

Lil Bub's charity work, Nala's shelter adoption message and Doug's foundation show that fans stay loyal when a pet's fame also does some good. For more cat and dog stories, see our guides to the cutest cat breeds in the world, the most hilarious dog breeds and the most amazing animal stories, or read about the most popular social media apps and sites where these pets built their audiences.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the most famous pet on the internet?

Kabosu, the Shiba Inu behind the Doge meme, has the widest cultural reach. Her face became a meme template, the logo of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency and, briefly in 2023, the Twitter logo. Grumpy Cat is a close rival, with millions of social media followers and a large merchandise business.

Is Grumpy Cat still alive?

No. Grumpy Cat, whose real name was Tardar Sauce, died on 14 May 2019 at the age of seven from complications of a urinary tract infection. Her family announced the death on 17 May 2019. Her official social media accounts remain online, and her famous frown is still widely used as a reaction image today.

What happened to the Doge dog?

Kabosu, the dog in the original Doge photo, died on 24 May 2024 in Sakura, Japan, at the age of 18. She had been diagnosed with leukaemia in late 2022. A bronze statue of her was unveiled in a Sakura park in November 2023, and fans celebrate her birthday each year as Doge Day.

Which dog has the most Instagram followers?

Jiffpom, a Pomeranian from Los Angeles, was named the most-followed dog on Instagram by Guinness World Records, with 9,018,251 followers on 29 April 2019. His account still had about 9 million followers in 2025. He also holds Guinness records for running on his hind legs and on his front paws.

Which cat has the most Instagram followers?

Nala Cat, a Siamese and tabby mix adopted from a California shelter, holds the Guinness record for most Instagram followers for a cat, with 4,361,519 on 13 May 2020. As of October 2026, analytics service HypeAuditor counts about 4.26 million. Her owner uses the account to promote pet adoption.

Why do people love internet pets so much?

Pets offer simple, wholesome humour that crosses languages and cultures. An expressive face, a funny habit or a familiar mood lets viewers project their own feelings onto the animal. Many internet pets also share rescue stories or raise money for charity, which gives followers a reason to stay engaged for years.

Conclusion

The most famous pets on the internet are more than cute pictures. Kabosu gave the world a meme, a currency and a statue. Grumpy Cat turned a frown into a business, while Keyboard Cat, Maru and Lil Bub showed how video, persistence and charity could build lasting fame. Smudge, Boo, Jiffpom, Nala and Doug each found their own path, from one lucky photograph to years of steady posting. Several of these animals have now died, but their images keep circulating every day, which is perhaps the clearest sign of what they meant to people online.