TikTok's' blue Smurf cat' meme explained

If you've been on TikTok in the past few days there's a strong chance that you might have seen art of a blue cat dressed like a Smurf with a white mushroom for a hat.

The image, which is often shared with the Russian hashtag #шайлушай or is sometimes called Shailushai has gone viral and become a meme within itself but why is it so popular and where did it come from?

Well you might be surprised to learn that the image isn't particularly new and is nearly a decade old now.

It was created by artist Nate Hallinan back in 2014 when the artist pondered the question that has plagued mankind for decades "What if Smurfs were real?"

Hallinan wrote on his website: "Smurfs are believed to be a hunter-gatherer society. As you can see, this little guy is returning from a successful venture. It is generally difficult to spot a Smurf; they are very apprehensive and cunning. Sadly though, it is rumored that they are hunted for their medicinal properties. It's hard to determine, but it is thought that there are not many colonies of Smurf left."

Nine years later the 'smurf' has taken on a life of its own and become a viral sensation on TikTok, appearing in countless videos on website set to music, most often the song 'The Spectre' by Alan Walker.

The smurf has also been popping up in random scenarios such as on football pitches and in the video game Minecraft but he's not the only fictional animal dominating TikTok at the moment.

Noah Glenn Carter reports that the smurf cat could be replaced soon by creations such as the 'Strawberry Elephant,' 'Pineapple Owl,'' Watermelon Zebra',' Horse Shark' and the 'Revolutionary Hamster.'

This is one of just a number of odd trends going viral on TikTok at the moment, with a revelation about the 'Roman Empire' being amongst the most popular.

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