๐พ
Pouting Cat Face
pow-ting kat
Definitions
1
Animals ยท Emotions
Common
A cat face with furrowed brows and a downturned mouth expressing anger, annoyance, or irritation. The feline equivalent of the angry human face.
Used to express frustration, displeasure, or irritation in a cute, feline way. Often used when feeling slighted or when something isn't going your way.
I waited an hour for my food delivery and they forgot my drink ๐พ
Text message
When someone takes your parking spot ๐พ
Social media caption
Part of the cat emoji set, reflecting internet cat culture's popularity. Often used to express milder frustration compared to more aggressive angry emojis.
2
Emotions ยท Attitude
Common
Used to express mild defiance, attitude, or sass in a playful manner. Indicates being upset but in a somewhat cute or endearing way.
Often used in contexts where the sender wants to show irritation without seeming too serious or aggressive.
Fine, I'll do it myself ๐พ
Group chat
Reflects the internet's tendency to use cat imagery to soften negative emotions, making them more socially acceptable and endearing.
Evolution Timeline
2010
Introduced as part of the cat face emoji set, initially with limited adoption.
Growing popularity of cat memes and cat content online.
2014
Gained popularity alongside the 'Grumpy Cat' internet phenomenon.
Widespread viral cat memes influencing emoji usage patterns.
2018
Increasingly used in gaming communities to express frustration at gameplay or other players.
Rise of gaming streams and social gaming platforms.
Cultural Context
The pouting cat represents the internet's fascination with cats as emotional surrogates, allowing people to express negative emotions in a more socially acceptable, cute format.
Popular in gaming communities where expressing frustration is common but needs to be tempered with playfulness to maintain social cohesion.
Younger users often employ this emoji more ironically than older users, who tend to use it more literally to express actual frustration.
Part of a set of cat emojis that parallel human emotional expressions, creating an anthropomorphic emotional language unique to digital communication.
Regional Variations
United Kingdom
Often used with dry humor or sarcasm to express mild annoyance rather than genuine anger.
United States
Often used in meme culture and gaming communities to express frustration at gameplay or other players.
Generational Usage
Gen_X: Less frequently used, but employed to express actual irritation in casual digital conversations.
Gen_Z: Used ironically or for dramatic effect, often in gaming contexts or to express mild sass. Common on TikTok and Discord.
Older: Rarely used; when employed, typically represents literal anger or frustration without ironic undertones.
Millennials: Used more literally to express genuine frustration or annoyance, especially in work chats and family groups.
Common Combinations
๐พ๐
Extreme frustration or anger with a threatening element.
Used to express being upset enough to want to fight or punch something.
๐พ๐ข
Intense anger or frustration, emphasizing the emotional state.
Draws on manga/anime visual language of anger symbols.
๐พ๐
Annoyed and exasperated, expressing both anger and dismissiveness.
Used when someone or something is both irritating and worthy of eye-rolling.
๐พโจ
Sassiness or attitude with style; being dramatically upset.
Often used by younger users to express stylish defiance or attitude.