The Persian Cat Room Guardian, also called The Persian Cat meme, consists of two photos of a white anthropomorphic cat figure posed with its arms up in an expression of annoyance. According to the cat's creator, the animal is a Persian feline, not some sort of monkey or furry goblin creature, as some have speculated. The Persian Cat started being used as an annoyed, irritated, or general WTF reaction meme in the mid-2010s
This meme typically shows two photos of the white stuffed cat side by side, alongside a text caption. In the first photo, it sits on a box upright like a primate with its hands spread apart at its midsection. The second is a close-up side shot in which the cat lifts one hand higher in the air than the other.
These poses mirror what humans sometimes do when experiencing outrage over an irritating situation. The classic use expresses the feeling you might get when someone tells you to do something you've already done. You might even raise your hands to gesture to the completed task.
As recorded by writer Cristina Conforti, the photos used in the Persian Cat meme originated from a Deviant Art post by user AnyaBoz on Aug. 5, 2013. The cat is one of many "room guardians" made by this individual.
The first known use of the Persian Cat Room Guardian as a meme appeared on Feb. 5, 2016, in an Instagram post by user @ratchetpeoplemeet. With those two photos side by side, they expressed how it feels when your girlfriend won't tell you what's wrong.
"When you ask your girl what's wrong and she gets mad even more and says 'you're supposed to know,'" they wrote.
Interest in the meme exploded from there as it spread to other platforms and quickly declined before leveling out in early summer of 2016. The cat still pops up from time to time but is a less common meme today.
These creatures are original creations by Brooklyn artist Anya Boz and come in the form of goats, wolves, foxes, and other woodland, pagan, or mythical animals. Their creator often poses them for photos like the one in the meme and auctions them off online. Some appear to be inspired by celebrities like Chappell Roan.
"Room Guardians are small creatures that protect one's home from negative spirits and energies," the artist explains on Deviant Art.
The figures are solid rather than plush with bendable limbs, and each contains a "unique crystal heart to give each one a different energy" within its chest.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Anya Boz via her website.
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The post The dramatic meme origins of the Persian Cat Room Guardian appeared first on The Daily Dot.
