--- title: Shocked Cat Looking in Two Mirrors Becomes Meme description: The latest meme machine is a cat staring at itself in two mirrors simultaneously. canonical: https://time.com/5787897/cat-mirror/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-02-20T14:18:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T19:27:37.000Z og:title: Shocked Cat Looking in Two Mirrors at Once Has Extreme Self-Awareness Energy. Meet Roscoe og:description: It's going viral for a good reason og:url: https://time.com/5787897/cat-mirror/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt086f5d37c9207561/698a0a86096a94804f6a7c34/CatMirrors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2121 og:image:height: 1193 og:image:alt: round bathroom mirror 2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Shocked Cat Looking in Two Mirrors at Once Has Extreme Self-Awareness Energy. Meet Roscoe twitter:description: It's going viral for a good reason twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt086f5d37c9207561/698a0a86096a94804f6a7c34/CatMirrors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Shocked Cat Looking in Two Mirrors at Once Has Extreme Self-Awareness. Meet Roscoe. > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d483be95-a2c2-401f-a886-36a33d3720d9&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Cats Care About People More Than Food, New Study Finds [Watch (HLS stream): Cats Care About People More Than Food, New Study Finds](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3tc6BEh1.m3u8) (0:56)  _Published 2017-03-28. Cats may have a reputation of being standoffish creatures who show their owners affection merely to fill their tummies_ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Dec 12, 2023 7:27 PM UTCPublished: Feb 20, 2020 2:18 PM UTC  Round silver mirror on stand, blur background bathroom with green marble, sink in background and reflection of bathroom in mirror Round silver mirror on stand, blur background bathroom with green marble, sink in background and reflection of bathroom in mirror Getty Image by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Dec 12, 2023 7:27 PM UTCPublished: Feb 20, 2020 2:18 PM UTC Christina Aguilera once asked in the 1998 song _Reflection_ “when will my reflection show?” And for a cat staring into two mirrors at once, the answer is now. A photo of a [cat](https://time.com/5768746/cat-reacts-to-can-of-tuna/) presumably stunned by its own distorted reflection in a circular bathroom mirror and a wall mirror simultaneously has recently got all of the likes on Twitter. Apparently the internet has [endless fondness for this photo](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/laurenstrapagiel/roscoe-magnifying-mirror-cat-meme), and the magical moment was recently rediscovered this week when it really exploded on Twitter. The enduring sensation of a cat is Roscoe, and he is based in Chicago. Owner Katie B. tells TIME she first captured the masterpiece moment, and shared the photo back in August. “He follows me everywhere and that morning, he was sitting in my sink while I got ready for work like he always does. I looked down and saw him in the mirror and thought it was super funny so I took a picture really quick before he moved!” she told TIME. “Everyone who he meets is his new best friend. He also has a very expressive face and a really fun personality so he makes everyone laugh.” Perhaps that’s why it feels like the feline belongs to all of us now. Her post of the image has been liked nearly 400,000 times. The cat looks quite taken aback by the confrontational experience. In the image, the cat wears a special kind of wide-eyed shocked expression. Everyone is bringing an excellent sense of humor to the photo, including one person who imagines the mirrors as “intrusive thoughts” and “inescapable anxiety” staring back at them. Of course, checking out [confused cats](https://time.com/5748791/cat-filter-reaction/) checking out themselves in mirrors is a time-honored pastime. See the cat see itself clearly in two mirrors below. > [](https://twitter.com/WeaselFidget/status/1229857508136804353) This cat is of course not the first. > [](https://twitter.com/maydayitsaj/status/1230145745459785730) And cat filters are a completely different story, but kind of the same energy. > [](https://twitter.com/priyankachopra/status/1204559600206237696) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5787897/cat-mirror/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5787897/cat-mirror/"},"headline":"Shocked Cat Looking in Two Mirrors at Once Has Extreme Self-Awareness. 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