1 photo. One Clapping Cat video.

What this template does

The clapping cat meme, also called black cat clapping, is an AI clip from September 2026: a black cat sits up on its hind legs, grins with human teeth and slowly claps a pair of hu

What is the Clapping Cat trend, and where did it start?

The clip comes from Aleksandr Kim, an AI creator who posts as **@merkurianin** and calls himself the father of two meme cats, a black one named Peep and a ginger one named Poop.

Clapping Cat trend timeline

• Fall 2026@merkurianin posts the clip on Instagram and TikTok. By 11 October the TikTok post has 43.5 million plays and 6.1 million likes, and the Instagram reel 2.59 million likes.
• Fall 2026The creator posts a tutorial: a Nano Banana Pro still of his cat, then the locked motion model on Higgsfield with a video of himself clapping.
• Fall 2026@asian5767 posts a green-screen copy captioned "My teacher took my phone..". It has 5.2 million views and 600,000 likes by 11 October.
• Fall 2026The creator posts a clean clip of the clapping cat for other people's videos and asks them to tag him. It has 1.7 million plays by 11 October.
• Recent weeks@yeltiktok posts the clapping cat with the caption "Like dang bro be quiet". It has 4 million views and 310,900 likes by 11 October.
• Recent weeksKnow Your Meme adds "Black Cat Clapping", and US Google searches for "clapping cat" reach their highest point so far, about six times the level of 30 September.

Photo requirements for Clapping Cat

• Daylight, in focus, eyes open. The face carries the grin, so a sharp face matters most.
• A photo taken from a little above works best: the meme is filmed by an owner looking down at the pet.
• Pick a photo of the room you want: the prompt keeps your real room and floor.
• One animal per photo. With two, the model may merge them.
• Cats look closest to the meme, and the prompts work for dogs and other pets too.

Troubleshooting Clapping Cat

• --- — ---
• Your pet keeps its paws, or gets more than two hands — Run it again. A photo where the front legs are clear helps. You can also use "Edit the prompts yourself" to make the still first and animate the
• The grin is small or comes late — Run it again, or pick Best.
• A hand blurs during a clap — Fast hand moves can blur in AI video. Run it again if it bothers you.

How Clapping Cat differs from common face-swap templates

Caption & hashtag ideas for Clapping Cat

• “Clapping Cat”
• Keep the AI label on
• Tag who has to go next
• Match a trending sound when you post

Hashtags that fit: #clappingcat · #aivideo · #remixmeme · #aipet

Keep the platform AI label on. RemixMeme does not license commercial tracks — add the trending sound yourself. Plans: $4.99 for the first week, then $12.99/week · cancel anytime · 720p=500 credits.