Table of Contents
BIKECAT, also known as Kuma, is a cat frequently posted on image boards such as Futaba Channel and iichan.
Introduction
On cat image boards, cat owners often take pictures of their pets and upload them for the enjoyment of others. BIKECAT (always written with capital letters) is a cat that has become famous on image boards such as Futaba Channel and iichan. BIKECAT's name reflects the nature of many of his pictures, in which he is sitting in the basket of a bike. BIKECAT is considered to be extremely cute and has an endearingly grumpy personality, which some say makes him even cuter. His grumpiness often makes him seem like a tough cat, which many interpret as the quality of a leader or even god. BIKECAT's cuteness and grumpiness have made him a popular internet meme.
BIKECAT is worshipped as a god by many of his fans.
BIKECAT's characteristics
BIKECAT is a white cat with grey stripes and notably large yellow eyes. A very special characteristic that BIKECAT has is his collar. He wears what appear to be dog collars (one he wears often even says "dog" on the side, making him look like more of a tough cat).
Origins of BIKECAT
A collage of pictures of BIKECAT as a kitten show him as dirty with weeping eyes. These pictures imply that BIKECAT was a feral cat.
BIKECAT's increased popularity
Origins of his nickname
Already famous on Futaba Channel, BIKECAT's pictures began to be posted on both 2ch and iichan on the "Random" forums (also known as "/b/"), also on the cat board on WTFUX.org. The most appealing photos were the ones in which BIKECAT was shown in a grumpy or mad mood, which users found cute. After some time, BIKECAT's images were posted so many times that users began to develop a personal curiosity. On iichan's "random" board and on WTFUX's cat board, a few users proposed a names for the cat, including "BIKECAT" and "BASKETCAT," because many of the pictures feature him seated in a bicycle basket. This amazed users because cats do not typically stay in one place. "BIKECAT" was selected as his name and he was named like so from then on, to the point that his name became notorious among users on iichan.
What users think of him
As mentioned before, BIKECAT was found cuter when in a grumpy or mad mood. In most of his pictures taken, BIKECAT appears as a "tough" cat, the kind that other cats won't mess with, rather than appearing like a cute cat like most owners like to take pictures of their pets. Because of his grumpy mood, BIKECAT is often referred as "the king of cats", as a "superior cat". For non cat-lovers, he is popular because of his appearance, while for those who love cats, (most being users of the cat boards of both Futaba Channel and iichan) his grumpiness is what attracts them.
His pictures
Most of the pictures posted of BIKECAT seem to be taken on the streets of what appears to be Nagoya, Japan. The owner takes BIKECAT around the city to urban places like streets, stores and parks (BIKECAT seems to enjoy his bicycle trips). Another part of BIKECAT's pictures are taken off the bicycle as he walks through the places were he was taken to outside while other pictures of him features him at home.
BIKECAT's disappearance
In late 2007 or early 2008, BIKECAT's human stopped posting on 2ch's cat board. There was speculation that he had died or was on a secret undercover mission to save Japan from Godzilla. However, on June 10, 2008, his human resumed posting new pictures. Google translations of threads on 2ch suggest that he may have just run away from home. However, it is likely that running away is only a cover story to mask his secret mission.
Links
- 2chan's cat board (BIKECAT's human posts here as クマと父ちゃん or K&T)