cat glow up meme

Twitter/theboopzone

People are sharing adorable photos of their kittens ‘glowing up’ into cats

Cats can have glow ups, too.

 

Siobhan Ball

IRL

Posted on Jul 26, 2019   Updated on May 20, 2021, 7:55 am CDT

To make everybody’s Friday better, Twitter user @ellle_em started an awesome, wholesome trend: asking cat owners to post a picture of their cat right after adoption next to a recent photo so everyone could see the “cat glow up.”

A “glow up” is a change for the better in style or confidence. Since it’s become a well-known meme, usually with before-and-after makeover pictures and photos of people at different ages, why not apply it to cats?

To kick it off, Elle started with pictures of their own adorable furballs.

https://twitter.com/ellle_em/status/1154674309736087552

Not pictured: all the other abandoned street cats Elle takes in.

The ‘Cat Glow Up’ meme goes viral

Some hours later, Twitter user @CAwkard got ahold of the hashtag and tipped it into virality.

https://twitter.com/CAwkward/status/1154766856542183425

In the thread, some cats had sad backstories, which made their glow ups even more heartwarming.

https://twitter.com/kellyknowlesart/status/1154785737017110528

It’s good to see that, even with his spectacular cat glow up, Mr. Ping has stayed true to his roots: He’s still furious.

Even the ones who started out as adorable kittens blossomed into beautiful cats.

https://twitter.com/theboopzone/status/1154801794951852032

This story is particularly heartwarming:

While we’re here, let’s send some extra love to black kitties, since they are less likely to be adopted than cats of other colors.

https://twitter.com/ysera__/status/1154774177896906752

Some cat glow ups involve fashion!

https://twitter.com/OhJeeToriG/status/1154781342548152325

This person is a hero, and her boy’s a little fighter.

As you can see, giants walk among us.

Since the world is on fire right now, physically as well as metaphorically, take some time to look at these cat glow ups. It’s self-care!

This post has been updated for relevance.

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled Elle’s Twitter handle and referred to Elle with incorrect pronouns. Elle’s handle is @ellle_em, and the pronouns have been updated.

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*First Published: Jul 26, 2019, 4:24 pm CDT