The meme is a side-by-side image split into two panels. The left panel shows a tearful, angry blonde woman pointing and screaming while another woman holds her back. The right panel shows a white cat with a flat, bewildered expression sitting in a chair at a dinner table with a plate of salad in front of him4. The contrast between the intense emotion on the left and the deadpan confusion on the right made the format irresistible for labeling any two-sided argument where one party is furious and the other is baffled7.

People typically add text labels to each panel to represent opposing sides of a debate, argument, or absurd situation. The woman represents the angry, accusatory side, and the cat represents the clueless or unbothered party3.

Woman Yelling at a Cat crossed from internet joke to mainstream cultural reference within months. Halloween 2019 saw numerous couples and groups dressing as Armstrong and Smudge, with Armstrong herself posing for photos with costumed fans3. The format appeared on protest signs in Guatemala and was used by institutions like Library and Archives Canada for public communication5.

The meme drew attention to a larger pattern of reality TV moments gaining second lives online, with writers citing it as a prime example of how previously aired media can find new cultural relevance years later through meme culture5. It also sparked conversation about the ethics of turning a moment of genuine distress into comedy, though Armstrong's public blessing helped ease those concerns2.

In Canadian politics, the template became a vehicle for expressing generational political divides during the 2019 federal election, with millennials using it to push back against older voters' support for the Liberal party7.

The meme's origin story stretches back nearly eight years before the two images were combined. The Armstrong screencap from December 2011 had already been circulating as a standalone reaction image on Twitter, 4chan, and other platforms for years6. Smudge's "he no like vegetals" photo similarly had its own life on Tumblr, where internet jargon in the caption helped it catch on, according to *Business Insider*'s Paige Leskin5. Both images were moderately popular on their own, but neither had broken through to mainstream meme status.

What @MISSINGEGIRL did on May 1, 2019, was simple but brilliant: she put them next to each other6. The pairing worked because of the implied narrative. One image shows someone screaming with intense emotion; the other shows a small creature looking utterly unbothered. The contrast was funny on its own, but the object-labeling format that Reddit users developed in June 2019 turned it into one of the most versatile templates of the year3.

Taylor Armstrong was initially surprised by the meme's popularity. She told *Oprah Daily* she first saw it in August 2019, in a version featuring "Boomers," "Millennials," and "Gen X" alongside Megan Mullally from *Will & Grace*3. "I never imagined of all my TV moments, that would be the one to become a 'meme' sensation," she said3. Armstrong leaned into it, engaging with fans who tagged her on social media and even clapping back when she went uncredited3.

Armstrong's willingness to participate helped keep the meme alive, but it also brought attention to the painful context of the original scene. When a Twitter user asked if it was difficult seeing that moment circulated, Armstrong responded on October 27, 2019: "That is my past and I have moved on and am in a really healthy, happy marriage. It doesn't seem like my life any longer. I work w domestic violence shelters and support victims. It's ok to laugh at the images that have been created"2.

Meanwhile, Smudge became an internet celebrity in his own right. His Instagram account hit 1.4 million followers, and a "Smudgeposting" Facebook group reached 23,000 members (both figures as of December 2019)5. Smudge's owners launched merchandise including clothing and coffee mugs, donating proceeds from t-shirt sales to the cat-rescuing nonprofit Furry Tails5. Celebrities got in on it too: NFL linebacker Bruce Davis and WWE wrestler John Cena posted Smudge memes and photos of themselves wearing Smudge shirts, while Snoop Dogg showed appreciation for the format5.

The meme crossed into institutional use as well. NFL player Stefon Diggs wore cleats featuring the meme during an interview. Library and Archives Canada used the format in a Facebook post explaining why employees sometimes handle rare books bare-handed5. In Canadian politics, the template was adapted to represent the divide between older Liberal voters and young Canadians critical of Justin Trudeau, posted to the Facebook page *Leftist Memes for New Democratic Teens* on September 30, 20197.

In April 2020, a recreation of the meme built in a modded version of *The Sims 4* by SimplySimmer19 hit over 42,000 upvotes on Reddit5. Artist Bruce Sterling later recreated it in art styles from different historical periods, and Lego builder Ochre Jelly made a brick recreation where the argument was about stepping on Lego pieces5.

The meme won Meme of the Year at the 12th Shorty Awards on May 3, 2020, presented to both Armstrong and Smudge5. Publications named it one of the best memes of both 2019 and the entire 2010s decade, and *Time* magazine topped its 2020 list of popular online cats with Smudge5.