Nyan Cat was created in early April 2011, with the original animated GIF posted online on April 2, 2011, and the famous Nyan Cat YouTube video uploaded on April 5, 2011.

Quick Scoop: Date & Origin

  • The original Pop-Tart cat animation was drawn by artist Christopher Torres and first shared on his site LOL-Comics on April 2, 2011.
  • A few days later, user “saraj00n” combined the animation with the song “Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!” and uploaded it to YouTube as “Nyan Cat” on April 5, 2011.
  • The meme quickly spread across forums, social media, and video sites, becoming one of 2011’s most recognizable viral loops.

Little Meme Storytime

In a livestream drawing session, Torres took mixed requests from viewers—someone asked for a cat, another for a food item—so he merged them into a cat with a pastry body, which became the Nyan Cat design. That simple combo of cute pixel art, looping motion, and an absurdly catchy song helped it stick in people’s heads and timelines for years.

TL;DR: When was Nyan Cat made?
It was drawn and posted as an animation on April 2, 2011, then turned into the iconic YouTube meme on April 5, 2011.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.