What’s The Smurf Cat Meme Doing In 2023?

Introduction

The “Blue Smurf Cat,” also known as “Blue Mushroom Cat” or “We Live We Love We Lie,” is a viral Russian language meme on TikTok. It features a whimsical character resembling an elf with a mushroom-shaped head and a cat’s face, akin to Smurfs. These creatures are humorously labeled “Шайлушай” in Impact font captions, creating gibberish Russian that’s reminiscent of “шалопай” or “little scoundrel.” This meme gained popularity in mid-2023, set to the tune “The Spectre” by Alan Walker. The original artwork was created by Nate Hallinan in 2014, titled “Smurf Sighting.” In September 2023, the “Arabic Strawberry Elephant” meme gained traction on TikTok, spurring the creation of other food-animal hybrids like the “Pineapple Owl” and “Blueberry Cat.”

Origin of the Smurf Cat

The meme’s origins trace back to September 8th, 2011, when artist Nate Hallinan shared progress images of “Smurf Sighting” on X/Twitter. On September 9th, 2014, he officially published this artwork, depicting a lifelike Smurf character carrying a snail on a stick.

In August 26th, 2023, TikToker @ghojam1 breathed new life into the meme with an engaging photo slideshow using Nate Hallinan’s artwork, set to “Keep Their Heads Ringin'” by Dr. Dre. The edited images rapidly gained popularity, amassing around 907,200 plays and 155,500 likes in just five days.

On August 27th, @ghojam1 posted another slideshow with a different soundtrack, a remix of “The Spectre” by Alan Walker, focusing on the lyrics “We live. We love. We lie.” The images humorously dubbed the creature “шайлушай” and integrated it into popular meme templates. This time, the slideshow gained about 2.1 million plays and 306,500 likes in four days.

Spread

Following @ghojam1’s viral slideshows on August 27th, 2023, TikTok users quickly caught on and began replicating the meme in their videos. For example, TikTok user @fghqweasd posted a video featuring the “Шайлушай” image on August 27th, accumulating around 25,100 plays and 950 likes in just four days. Likewise, on August 28th, TikTok user @klubnichka_gd joined the trend by creating a video referencing the meme, which garnered approximately 745,100 plays and 146,100 likes within three days.

During this same timeframe, image macros incorporating “Шайлушай” continued to surface in slideshows on TikTok, establishing themselves as a popular trend. For instance, on August 29th, TikTok user @dayerteq shared “Шайлушай” photos with an art style reminiscent of Yabujin, earning about 211,500 plays and 47,000 likes in just two days. Similarly, on August 29th, TikTok user @t8m8f8y presented “Шайлушай” photos in a Haunted Mound art style, amassing approximately 196,800 plays and 43,100 likes within two days.

The hashtag “#шайлушай” swiftly gained traction on TikTok, accumulating over 8 million views by August 31st, 2023. Additionally, discussions surrounding the meme began to emerge on Reddit in late August 2023.

Discover the enchanting world of the “Blue Smurf Cat” meme and join the viral sensation that has taken TikTok by storm!