Unless you're a veteran Cheezburger lover from pre-2007, you've probably heard us throw around the term "LOLcats" before, but do you know where it really comes from? 

Welcome to our I Can Has Cheezburger hisstorian's guide to the rise of feline royalty. 

Gather 'round, fellow feline fanatics, meme meowsters, and distinguished scholars of the ancient art of catposting. Today, we're dusting off our internet archives and embarking on a journey through one of the most impawtant cultural movements of the digital age: the rise of the LOLcat. 

Listen up, youth! Yes, there was a time before TikTok and Instagram. We were the "go play outside and don't come back in unless one of you is hurt" generation. Then, somewhere along the way, computers were introduced, and we even had computer classes in school. The internet was young, the pixels were plentiful, and the spelling was absolutely atrocious. We're talking, of course, about the glorious era of "I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?"

We can't just give our thanks to the first meme creators, but we definitely will later in this article. My goal in this awwducational anthology is to show you that our LOLcats history goes much further back than the age of the internet, and how many steps were taken to get to the meowdern meme culture we have today. Those reaction memes you save and send to your friends or coworkers are there because of a rich history of people being obsessed with their cats.

Get comfy - it's time we begin.