10 Cats Made Famous by YouTube

The Internet enables us to connect with people worldwide, it puts breaking news and information at our fingertips, and it brings us one more thing we can't get enough of here at Treehugger: cat videos.

Thanks to the pervasiveness of cameras and the simplicity of YouTube, new cat videos are uploaded every day, but there are some kitties whose videos hold a special place in YouTube history. Here's a look at some fun-loving felines and cuddly kittens who were made famous by YouTube.

Maru

Maru, a Scottish Fold cat who lives in Japan, is perhaps the most famous feline on the Web. The first Maru video was uploaded in June 2008, and the Internet fell in love with this round-faced, box-loving cat. Today, Maru's YouTube channel has almost 180,000 subscribers, and his videos have been viewed more than 100 million times.

Piano cat

When Betsy and Burnell took Nora home from an animal shelter, they had no idea they had a musical prodigy on their hands. Nora would sit under the piano while Betsy gave lessons, and one day the cat decided to try her hand — or rather paw — at performing. She leapt onto the piano bench, put her paws on the keys and began making music. Since that day, Nora has practiced her piano skills on a daily basis — often with Betsy's students — and she's become an Internet sensation with her own blog. Nora even participated in CATcerto, a four-minute piano concert composed by Mindaugas Piečaitis.

Surprised kitty

In 2009, YouTube user rozzzafly uploaded a video of her friend's kitten, Atilla Fluff, being tickled. Whenever the tickling stopped, Atilla would throw her paws up in surprise, and the adorable video amassed more than 7 million viewers in just two weeks.

Barking Cat

This feline in Russia may look like a cat, but it sounds like a dog — when it wants to. In this funny video, a "bilingual" black cat is barking out the window until it notices it has human company and switches back to its usual meow.

Mean kitty

Cory Williams took Sparta from a little girl who had been going door-to-door trying to find a home for her kitten. The young Egyptian Mau was all claws and teeth at the time so Williams wrote "The Mean Kitty Song," made a video and was astounded by its popularity. Today, Sparta has his very own YouTube channel where viewers can watch the "mean kitty's" escapades now that he's all grown up.

Stalking cat

Cats are known for stalking their prey, but this adorable kitty became famous on the Web for stalking the video camera.

OMG cat

Although his expression is hilarious, Chocolate the cat, or "Choco," is actually suffering from a dislocated jaw. The funny feline who lives in Japan has since recovered.

Boxing kitten

This fiesty feline has a mean left jab and could certainly teach Rocky a few moves.

Talking cats

While you might assume that these chatty cats frequently engage in friendly conversation, their owner says they rarely get along. Perhaps on this day Stina and Mossy tried to hash out their differences during their hour-long conversation.

Mama cat

It's easy to see why this adorable video went viral. There's nothing like a mother's embrace — no matter your species.

Who makes all these amazing cat videos happen? Kittywood Studios, of course!