Little is known about the original recording behind gwa gwa, but the clip spread online as a short cat reaction sound shared across soundboards and social edits. Its name comes from transcribing the two syllabic noises phonetically, and searches for gwagwa cat and gwa gwa gwa helped the spelling stick. Creators keep reusing it because the sound is instantly readable without context, works muted as a caption as well as heard aloud, and fits the endless cycle of cute pet videos remixed for comic effect.