Soooo, here's something hilarious to waste a few minutes of your day: People on Twitter are turning their cats into Totoro from My Neighbor Totoro with the use of paper cut-outs. Why? Because… well, why the heck not? Anything goes on the Internet, and as far as slightly bizarre things people could be doing go, this one is relatively benign. Also I can't stop staring at all these cats, because you guys. They totally do look like Totoro. The resemblance is uncanny!
According to Kotaku East — the branch of Kotaku that focuses on East Asian Internet culture — it's common knowledge in Japan that cat backs look an awful lot like the titular character from the beloved Studio Ghibli film. This is especially true if your cat happens to be gray, although the general Totoro outline is still there regardless of the color of your feline buddy's fur. So: What's the best way to make your cat's back look even more like Totoro? Add a few carefully-placed pieces of paper, of course. It's not a huge undertaking — all it requires are cut-outs designed to look like Totoro's belly, his two little eyes, and his nose — and the results are so Totoro-esque that I just can't stop staring at them:
Googly eyes also seem to be popular; this series of images, for example, has been retweeted over 13,000 and favorited another 11,000:
Although at first glance the googly eye option might look a little less like Totoro, Curazy (via Kotaku East, since I don't speak any Asian languages and Google Translate is often gibberish) notes that this one actually bears a certain resemblance to the mini-Totoros scattered throughout the film, so… there's that.
Since I own two cats, of course, there was only one thing for it: Obviously I had to try this wacky trend out for myself. While I would never embarrass an actual human on the Internet, I'm perfectly fine with humiliating my cats; first off, they're cats and really couldn't care less, and second, any photos of them I put online aren't likely to make trouble for them if they need to, say, apply for a job.
Here's the step-by-step process of turning your cat into Totoro:
1. Make Your Cut-Outs
Start with a piece of paper and some scissors…
And cut yourself Totoro's tummy, eyes, and nose. Mine aren't terribly neat and tidy due to the fact that I just went at it free-hand; if you want cut-outs that look a little more polished, you can always sketch out a pattern before you start cutting.
2. Locate a Willing Cat
With two cats roaming around my apartment, you would have thought this step would have been easy… but then again, these are cats we're talking about here. Cats are very rarely willing to do anything unless it's their own idea. Out of my two little beasts, I knew that one of them would be more likely to put up with it than the other; she's super hyper most of the time, though, so it meant waiting for a time when she was mostly asleep and therefore unlikely to protest.
3. Place Your Cut-Outs and Snap Your Photos
Uh… hmmm. Not quite what I was going for. Let's try that again.
Nope, still not right…
...Well, I think that's about as close as I'm going to get. My first mistake was making my cut-outs too big — and my second mistake? Probably attempting to do this at all. Seriously, you guys. I have no idea how the owners of those cats on Twitter got their pets to sit still long enough to place the cut-outs in the first place, let alone take pictures of them. These photos were snapped over the course of the morning, which is why they're all in different locations; unfortunately Nymeria was never as sleepy as I thought she was, so she wasn't terribly happy with me for trying to balance weird things on her back. I gave her treats as a reward for putting up with me bugging her all morning, though, so she forgave me pretty quickly.
Anyhoo, there you have it: How to — or how not to — turn your cat into Totoro. Let me know if you have better luck than I did!
Images: Wesley Chan/Flickr; Lucia Peters/Bustle (5); Giphy
