What Kind of Cat Is Beluga? Famous Cats Explained
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In 2018, we were introduced to Beluga—an internet personality that quickly became a household name, courtesy of a meme that described them as a “polite cat”. Was Beluga as polite as they say? In truth, we don’t know. The only thing that we know for sure is that they always wore an undeniably strange, but cute smile that would make any heart flutter.
Is Beluga a special cat breed? Sadly, no. Beluga is a Domestic Shorthair cat. There’s nothing “special” about this breed, save for the fact that they shot to internet fame in a very short period. If you’d like to learn more about this feline influencer, keep on reading.
Is Beluga’s Smile Real?
To be honest, some of us were disappointed to learn that Beluga’s smile is a product of some Photoshop work.
The original photos don’t feature any smile, and if you’re a keen observer, you’ll also realize some of the already uploaded photos seem unnatural. Regardless, that doesn’t change the fact that we’ve grown to love Beluga, and so has the world.
Is the Smile the Only Reason Why Beluga Is Popular?
The smile definitely contributed to her massive gain in popularity, but it wasn’t the only factor. Beluga made her debut when memes were getting popular on the internet. So, people saw that as an opportunity to create wholesome content that delivered more relatable jokes.
We knew it would fizzle out eventually, as they normally do, but what we didn’t anticipate was a resurgence. Her comeback was precipitated by the creation of the Beluga YouTube Channel—already one of the fastest-growing channels on the site. Some channels take years to cross the million-subscriber mark, but the Beluga channel did that in weeks.
At the moment, it’s a few subscribers shy of 10 million. And from the looks of it, it’s not slowing down any time soon. Their primary content revolves around the adventures of Beluga, who’s the main character, and a supporting cast comprising Beluga Jnr and friends. There’s no denying that all the videos are amusing. What’s actually shocking, and we’re certain that other YouTubers will concur with this one, is how fast the channel has grown.
Some would argue that luck had something to do with it, and maybe they are right. We’ll never know for sure.
Who Owns Beluga the Cat?
Tracking the original creators of various memes on the internet is always challenging. We were only lucky this time around because the original creator, who also happens to be the cat’s actual owner, kept on releasing more content.
We got to meet Beluga, whose actual name is Ollie, and her sibling Yin Yin, who’s also a Domestic Shorthair. If you’d like to see more photos of Beluga, search for her page using the handle @Polite-Cat-Olli or @Polite-cat-olli-official.
It’s worth mentioning that her other social media pages haven’t gained millions of followers as the YouTube channel, but we hope they’ll get there. What’s strange is that the real Beluga owner is not the guy behind the creation or operation of the YouTube channel. They also seem to not work together, making us wonder why Ollie’s parents are okay with an internet stranger profiting from their cat’s image.
By the way, the channel has also helped create a highly successful range of merchandise, and that could have been a good thing if Beluga’s parent was the one profiting from the sales.
Is Beluga Intelligent?
She most certainly is. You can tell the cat has a relatively high IQ because she’s responsive to various cues, understands human gestures, and is able to differentiate random items. But as we’ve said, these are nothing more than assumptions, based on online posts. Ollie’s parents are the only people who can give an accurate assessment of her intelligence.
Final Thoughts
Even though we can’t see your faces, we know you’re disappointed to learn that Beluga’s smile isn’t real. And we understand your disappointment, but at least she’s an actual cat, right? Just imagine if you would have learned that everything in that meme, including the image of the cat itself, was a fake!
So, let’s just revel in Ollie’s new-found fame, and hope that she won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
See Also:
- What Kind of Cat Is Crookshanks From Harry Potter? Famous Cats Explained
- What Kind of Cat Was Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter? Cinema Felines Presented
Featured Photo Credit: Mary Swift, Shutterstock
