If you’ve spent more than five minutes on TikTok lately, you’ve probably witnessed something that stopped you mid-scroll. An orange cat. Standing up. Perfectly upright. Like a tiny, furry employee waiting for a meeting to start. The owners’ reaction? Pure, unfiltered chaos.
This is the story of Cheddar, a ginger cat who decided that four legs were simply too conventional, and the internet has not been the same since. Let’s dive in.
Meet Cheddar: The Orange Cat Who Went Mega-Viral
Jess Single, 31, who posts to TikTok under the username @__jessicuhhh, owns three cats: Cheddar, Smokey, and Willow. Cheddar is the orange one – and if you haven’t heard of him yet, you’re about to.
The trio often make appearances on Single’s page, but a video of Single and her husband in hysterics at Cheddar as he tried out a new pose has gone mega-viral, bringing tens of millions of viewers to her page. Honestly, that’s the kind of fame most people spend years chasing. Cheddar got it by just standing up.
The TikTok video has been viewed more than 20 million times and liked more than 5 million times. That’s not just viral. That’s a cultural moment. For a cat who probably wanted to look at something interesting, Cheddar became an overnight celebrity.
The Moment That Broke the Internet
In the clip posted in January, Single can be heard laughing and exclaiming “What is happening?” as her husband lets out an astounded “Woah.” The reaction, honestly, is as entertaining as the cat himself. You can feel the pure disbelief radiating through the screen.
Cheddar is standing on his hind legs, his back straight and his arms by his side. He is watching something carefully, and moves his head and body around to keep track of it, but never once appears to need to sit back down like a regular cat. Think of it like a meerkat. A very fluffy, very orange meerkat with no regard for social norms.
Instead, at multiple points, he gets even taller, almost hopping on the spot. Single wrote in the caption: “My cat is evolving.” And let’s be real – that caption is probably the most accurate description of 2026 cat behavior anyone has written.
How the Internet Responded: Creativity at Its Peak
One user dressed the standing-up-straight cat in a shirt, tie and briefcase, writing “he’s getting ready for work,” while another dressed him in boots and gave him a sword, in a nod to Puss In Boots. The creativity here is genuinely delightful. People saw this upright orange cat and immediately thought: what office job does he have?
Another commenter laughed at how Cheddar had become “vertical,” but another had the burning question: “Forget Cheddar – what was he looking at?” I think that second commenter deserves some credit. We’ve all been so focused on the standing cat that we never stopped to wonder what mysterious force compelled him to go bipedal in the first place.
The image of an orange cat standing upright is commonly used in memes to convey emotions such as surprise, innocence, awkwardness, or guilt, with humorous captions added to match the situation. The origin of this type of photo became widely popular on platforms like Reddit, Instagram, and Twitter due to the cat’s unusual pose and its large, round eyes, which make it look both cute and comically expressive. Cheddar fits perfectly into this tradition, and TikTok ran with it beautifully.
Why Do Cats Stand on Their Hind Legs? The Science Behind the Pose
According to veterinarian Meaghan Thomas, speaking to Rover, cats standing up is not a natural stance, and something will usually prompt it: they may stand to stretch their limbs, to scope out a potential threat, to get a better look at something that interests them, or to reach out for a treat. So Cheddar wasn’t breaking any cat laws. He was just being an extremely curious, highly motivated feline.
Your cat might stand up on their hind legs to stretch their limbs for physical comfort. Cats’ natural ancestral instincts sometimes kick in. If they perceive a potential threat, they might stand up on their hind legs to get a better view or make themselves look more intimidating. It’s essentially the feline equivalent of standing on your toes to see over a crowd at a concert.
Cats standing on their hind legs is typical when they are looking for attention, affection, or places to explore. They’re likely just trying to get a better position to get what they want. Cats often stand on their hind legs to get closer to their owners’ faces and hands, making it easier to receive attention and pets. This behavior is learned through positive reinforcement when they discover it successfully gains human attention. Smart animals, these cats. Very smart.
When Should You Worry? The Medical Side of Cat Standing
Now here’s where things get a little more serious. Most of the time, a cat standing up is completely harmless and quite adorable. I think every cat owner secretly hopes their furball will develop this little party trick. However, it’s worth knowing when standing behavior could signal something worth checking out.
While standing on hind legs is usually normal behavior, sometimes it can indicate underlying health issues. Diabetic neuropathy, radial agenesis, or calcaneal tendon disorders might cause cats to shift weight to their back legs more frequently than usual. If you notice your cat standing on their hind legs more often than normal, especially if accompanied by other unusual symptoms, it’s important to consult with a veterinarian to rule out potential health concerns.
If your cat is walking around on their hind legs but doesn’t appear to be in pain, that doesn’t mean they’re alright. Cats habitually mask their pain, so watching for changes in behavior is crucial to catching illnesses and injuries when they develop. It’s hard to say for sure whether Cheddar had any of these concerns – but based on the footage, he looks like one perfectly happy, perfectly healthy cat who simply found something worth standing up for.
Orange Cats and Their Legendary Internet Presence
Let’s be real for a second: orange cats have a special place in internet culture. It’s not just about their color. There’s something about their boldness, their unfiltered behavior, and their complete lack of self-awareness that makes them utterly magnetic on camera. Cheddar is just the latest chapter in a very long orange cat story.
Most orange cat owners seem to believe that their felines are more talkative than other cats, and that may also be due to their genetics. It’s believed that the gene that gives them their unique orange color, known as the O gene, may also be responsible for some behaviors that seem to be typical of ginger cats. So orange cats might literally be wired differently. That might explain a lot.
From standing cats to cats refusing to let owners leave for work, the orange cat content pipeline shows no signs of slowing down. While Cheddar’s vertical stance was impressive, it’s not all too unusual for a cat to stand on their hind legs. Yet it took one perfectly timed clip to remind millions of people why they love these chaotic, lovable creatures so much.
The Small Moments That Unite the Internet
Cheddar didn’t set out to become famous. He probably just saw a bug, or maybe a rogue shadow, or perhaps something only cats can perceive in the mysterious corners of a living room. He stood up. His owners lost it. The world watched.
That’s the magic of moments like this. In a world that can feel overwhelming and divided, a small orange cat standing like he’s waiting for the morning bus has the power to bring tens of millions of people together for a shared laugh. There’s something genuinely beautiful about that.
It isn’t necessarily abnormal to see a cat standing on their hind legs. Some cat owners even affectionately call this behavior “meerkating” since their pets resemble the adorable meerkat when they stand on their hind legs. So if your own cat pulls off a Cheddar one day, grab your phone immediately. You could be next.
Has your cat ever pulled off something this bizarrely brilliant? Drop it in the comments – the world deserves to see more of this energy.
