: While Torres originally called it "Pop Tart Cat," it became universally known as "Nyan Cat" because of the song's lyrics— nyan being the Japanese onomatopoeia for a cat's meow.

Watch the story of how a simple doodle became one of the internet's most iconic memes: I Accidentally Became A Meme - Nyan Cat BuzzFeedVideo YouTube• Jul 1, 2021

: The character was based on Torres’ own Russian Blue cat, Marty , who sadly passed away in November 2012.