Meaning
What does Hang In There Cat mean?
Hang in there cat (or hang in there baby) is a pop-culture phenomenon, that derived from the common phrase and slang expression “hang in there”.
The expression refers to the artist Victor Baldwin’s famous black and white poster that he created based on his photograph, which he took of his Siamese house cat.
The photo shows the cat hanging with its front legs from a bar, with the added caption saying “hang in there, baby”.
Many variations and recreations of this image can be found on the internet, all of them featuring hanging kittens from bars or branches.
Origin
What's the origin of Hang In There Cat?
Baldwin’s original poster was published in 1970 as part of his book Outcast Kittens, based on the photo he captured of his cat Sassy, in 1963.
Later the photo got released as a sort of motivational poster.
Baldwin titled the poster with the text saying “Hang in there, baby”.
The original poster was purchased by famous musical composer Meredith Wilson.
Following that, the demand for additional copies rose greatly.
Spread & Usage
How did Hang In There Cat spread?
The poster turned out to be very popular.
Many people had claimed that it helped them through hard times.
Eventually many bootlegs, variants and interpretations emerged because of the pushing demands during the 70s.
Hang in there cat got featured in many iconic pop-culture entities, such as The Simpsons or the Terminator movie franchise.
On the internet, the phenomenon appeared in some forms of memes as well.
One example would be LOLcat comics, which were popular during the early 2010s.
External resources
- Wikipedia – Hang in there, Baby
- Hang In There, Baby – Literary Arts Blogspace
- The Spirochaete Trail – Hang In There Baby (How A Dead Cat Explains Futility)