The Smurf Cat began as a surreal TikTok image of a cat coloured bright blue and given a Smurf-style hat, an absurd mash-up that viewers quickly turned into a running joke. Short videos pairing the character with deadpan captions, reaction edits and playful insults spread across TikTok and short-form feeds, helped by how instantly recognisable the blue cat became. It still works because the joke needs no explanation: one glimpse of the strange, calm feline is enough to signal irony, silliness and internet in-jokes to anyone who has seen it before.