10 Nyan Cat Facts Every Fan Should Know

The Complete History of Nyan Cat: From Meme to Icon

Song: The vocaloid/UTAU tune “Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!” originated on Nico Nico Douga (July 25, 2010, by daniwellP; a popular UTAU cover by Momomomo followed Jan 31, 2011). “Nyan” is Japanese onomatopoeia for a cat’s meow.
GIF: On April 2, 2011, artist Christopher Torres (prguitarman) posted an animated GIF of a gray cat with a Pop‑Tart body flying through space on his LOL‑Comics site; he drew it during a livestream donation drive. Torres based the cat on his pet, Marty.
YouTube video: On April 5, 2011, user saraj00n combined Torres’s GIF with the Momomomo/daniwellP track and uploaded it as “Nyan Cat,” which rapidly spread.

Featured on mainstream and niche sites (CollegeHumor, G4, Tosh.0, BuzzFeed), the video and countless remixes/parodies proliferated across YouTube and social media. Longer looped versions and themed variants (country versions, food swaps, etc.) became common.
Fan projects: ringtones, wallpapers, apps/games (iOS, Android, web), progress‑bar mods, and an official licensed game (“Nyan Cat Adventure”). A nyan‑themed cryptocurrency (Nyancoin) also appeared.

DMCA incident (June 2011): The original YouTube video was briefly taken down due to a disputed copyright claim and then restored after counter‑complaint.
Lawsuit (2013): Christopher Torres (Nyan Cat) and Charles Schmidt (Keyboard Cat) sued 5th Cell and Warner Bros. for unauthorized use in Scribblenauts; the case settled in September 2013 with compensation.
Domain and brand: Torres criticized early copy sites (e.g., nyan.cat/“Toast Cat”) and later took control of official domains and merchandise distribution.

Ownership/hosting of the original video changed hands (Means TV acquired the hosting channel in 2019).
In 2021 Torres sold an updated Nyan Cat GIF as an NFT for ~300 ETH (~US$587k at the time), a high‑profile example of meme IP monetization.
Nyan Cat remains a recurring cultural reference in memes, merch, fan art, music remixes, and blockchain/crypto experiments.

Simplicity and memeability: A short, catchy audio loop + instantly recognizable visual made it easy to remix and repurpose.
Cross‑platform spread: Early adoption across Nico Nico Douga, Tumblr, YouTube, and meme sites accelerated viral reach.
Creator visibility + loose licensing culture: Torres’s initial openness (plus later IP enforcement when needed) let fans iterate while preserving creator rights for commercial use.

Sources: Wikipedia, The Daily Dot, primary interviews and archived coverage (April–2021 reporting).