As we approach the beginning of a new year and the end of the current one, we can't help but wonder where the time is going! Every year passes by more and more quickly. Maybe it's because we're purrfectly deep into the darkness of winter, and we need seven layers of coats just to walk outside, but we feel like our lives are missing that spark that we used to have. This, plus the fact that we're about to get another year older, means that we have two options: continue down this path of getting older and grumpier, or find a way to connect back to our inner joy.

It sounds harder than it is, you just have to think about the one thing that makes you purrfectly happy. For us, it's cats and making cat memes. We grew up with the original Lolcats memes, where everyone spoke like "Iz wantz ur toona hooman" and created the first cat memes to ever exist. We would spend hours thinking up funny captions for our cat pictures without a care in the world. They make us think of better times, simpler times, and when everything just felt right in the world.

So, to end this year on a pawsitive note, we collected the 50 best original lolcats memes to bring you some of that old-school 'I Can Has Cheezburger' joy and meowgic. Bring out your sock-em-boppers and Pokémon cards, because it's about to get wildly silly up in here.

Cats and boxes just belong together. You can bring home the fanciest cat bed in the world, and they'll still choose the cardboard box it came in. There's something hilarious about how quickly they claim a box as their new favorite spot. Big boxes, tiny boxes, weirdly shaped boxes… none of it matters. If it's on the floor, they're climbing inside like it's a personal mission.

Half the charm is watching their little inspection routine. They sniff every corner, tap the edges with a paw, and then plop down like they've discovered hidden treasure. Even when the box is clearly too small, they squeeze themselves in with full confidence. And somehow, it works. 

The funniest part is how serious they get once they're inside. Suddenly this random cardboard box becomes their fortress, command center, and personal studio apartment. They peek out like undercover spies, swat at anything that moves, and act deeply offended if you dare try to move "their" box. Cats treat a simple box like it's prime luxury real estate, and they commit to the role every single time. 

Cats are the most confusing creatures. The man in this story sees a cat in a tree outside his apartment complex. He's the only one who can approach the cat without her getting scared. Over a week's time, he gains more and more trust from the cat, and even offers her some bologna. She's skeptical, but she follows him into his home. That very night, she's already sleeping on his head, and he's given her the name Amity. Saving cats is basically a Christmas miracle, and this hooman seemed to have worked very hard for Amity. 

It's not everyday that someone really goes out of their way with lots of effort to save a cat. We're all familiar with the "cat stuck in the tree" trope, where a fireman has to come in and save the poor thing. But this man isn't even a fireman! No ladder, no uniform, just himself and his kind soul. He lured her in over time. If only men treated women like this in dating. Enjoy the story below, where a man saves a cat from a tree, and the internet applauds his bravery, persistence, and efforts. 

As all of you cat lovers and owners know, when a cat chooses you there is little you can do about. You have been chosen and so you will keep quiet and let the cat do whatever it wants to and needs to do. Whether that means demanding higher quality food, or demanding to come and live with you even though your wife has a severe allergy to cats. You have no power in the situation and it is upon you to appease the cat, not the other way around. Which is pretty much what happened to one man late one evening when he happened upon a cat who looked to be in not the best shape.

The cat had chosen him and his patio to seek refuge in, and within moments of meeting each other, the feline had coerced the man into bringing him a makeshift home for the night which would, of course, be upgraded the following morning. It is a true story of feline devotion and one that is to be admired and taken as an example of exemplary hooman behavior towards a cat.

Ah, Christmas with a cat - the season of being both blessed and betrayed by the same fluffy creature in a matter of minutes. On one paw, we have the nice Christmas cats: the sweet little angels who curl up beside the heater, purr under the soft glow of holiday lights, and look so gentle you'd swear they're auditioning to be Santa's newest reindeer. They give slow blinks, they make biscuits on your festive blanket, and they nap like a tiny furry ornament placed lovingly on the couch. Pure holiday serenity.

And then… there are the naughty Christmas cats.

You know exactly which ones we mean. The ones currently climbing the Christmas tree like they're reenacting that King Kong scene. The ones who somehow got tangled in tinsel despite nobody actually seeing them touch the tinsel in the first place. The ones who power-chew wrapping paper, attempt to claw the stockings, and sprint across the house at 4 AM like they're delivering urgent messages to the North Pole.

Every cat pawrent knows both sides of the holiday cat coin: the adorable gingerbread-scented cuddle bug and the chaotic little gremlin who could single-pawedly end Christmas if given 40 unsupervised seconds. But that's the magic of festive felines - they make the holidays twice as funny, twice as cute, and about twelve times more chaotic.

Naughty or nice, Christmas cats always deliver the holiday spirit… with claws.

One of the best things about memes is how relatable they are. They're so shareable, so purrsonal, and so impeccably accurate. And then, when you add cats with them, it takes them from great to purrfect. On this third Caturday before the end of the year, we wanted to share with you some of our most purrfectly precise cat memes that truly encompass your whiskery winter vibes. It may be cold outside, but the fires of our meme-loving hearts are burning bright with feline flair and whiskery wonder.

Now that it's all gray, cold, and wet outside, we want nothing more than to stay inside all day and truly embrace our "cozy season". You'll find plenty of pawsitively comfy cats below who accurately represent our need to stay cuddly and warm at all times. Another unfurtunate thing that is relatable this time of year is having no money. We spent it all on heating our house and buying our family exactly one Christmas present. We're sorry to everyone else, but you'll be getting love and well-wishes instead of gifts this year. Even though cats may not understand the concept of money, these felines in the form of hooman funnies below do, and it's more than enough to make you laugh.

Let's end this dreary year with a good giggle on this fine and dandy Caturday. Enjoy these memes and stay cozy!

Did you know that senior cats are some of the least adopted cats in shelters? Not surprising, right? Maybe not, but it's quite sad to think about. We understand why so many people love adopting kittens as much as they do, we really do. But senior cats make such amazing pets as well, and we don't think that people understand that, not really. In shelters, any cat above the age of one, is often considered "old" for adopting, and the drop-off in adoption for cats above the age of seven - senior cats - is even worse than that.

Of course, it doesn't matter how many times we tell people that they should adopt senior cats, that senior cats have a different appreciation for the comforts of indoor life, that senior cats often get cuddlier with age… at the end of the day, the thing that people will respond to are not words, it's stories like this one. This person didn't simply adopt a senior cat, they adopted a very, very old cat - a 19-year-old cat. And although they don't know how much time they are going to have with this cutie, they sure are thankful for every second of it. 

The sun rises again, cat enthusiasts and feline parents. But, at what cost? We're lucky to flutter our eyes open to the warm rays of a winter's morning, but knowing we need to get out into the cold and feel it, no matter how many layers we put on, is… difficult to grapple with. A cashmere long sleeve and a scarf knitted by your grandmother can only do so much, but you know what can always remedy the freezies you might be dealing with? A nice, toasty cup of coffee… or tea, or hot cocoa, if that suits your fancy a bit better. Our warmth doesn't only come from what we put on the outside, but also from what we consume and take inside. On top of some coffee, consider consuming some catto content best fit for those achingly chilly mornings where all you want to do is crawl back into your cozy comforter.

It's okay to crawl back into bed when you have nothing on your to-do list, but grabbing a steaming mug full of your favorite winter drink can't hurt, regardless. The best way to kick back and relax on days when the last thing you want to do is bundle up and get going? Couch-rotting with your favorite feline and consuming the most wholesome funnies to warm you right up. Start here.