There’s a scene in the 1994 movie Predator where alien annihilating adonis Arnold Schwarzeneggar and his old friend Carl Weathers, biceps a bulging, perform what remains today as pop culture's most testosterone infused handshake. The scene has developed a life of its own outside the film as a popular internet meme. A recent photo taken in Japan of two cat’s performing their own epic high five may be poised to reach even greater heights of internet fame than Schwarzanegger’s handshake however.

The photo was posted on Twitter by user GAGA Numa (@gaga_numa) in October. Since then the photo has generated a huge amount of buzz in the Japanese Twittersphere.

Check out the miracle that has captured the hearts of over 150,000 people at time of writing:

Reproduced with permission from GAGA Numa (@gaga_numa)

The photo has wowed many a Twitter user due to the impressive intentionality with which the cats seem to be high fiving. Many netizens have expressed their awe with comments like the ones below:

  • ”What a dynamic feeling!”
  • ”This is one of the miracles”.
  • ”It's not "Slam Dunk" but "Slam Nyank"!”*

*“Slam Dunk” was a popular Japanese manga and anime about basketball where characters regularly high fived. This comment plays on this image with a play on words that replaces “Dunk” with Japanese for “meow”, which is “nyan”, creating the word “Nyank”.

The photo has been dubbed “Nyan-touch” by Twitter users which combines the Japanese for meow, “nyan”, and high-five, “hai tacchi” (literally, high-touch). The cuteness and mysterious energy of these two high fiving cats feels great to look at and will no doubt become a go to image to relieve stress for many netizens.

The fact that GAGA Numa could capture this epic moment suggests they are a real pro and devotee when it comes to snapping pics of cats. There’s no doubt that the photo if purrr brilliance. GAGA Numa, we eagerly await your next catptivating catpture!


By - Toby M.