Clapping Cat: Make Your Pet Grin and Clap Like the Black Cat

Your cat or dog sits up, grows two small human hands, flashes a wide human grin and gives you a slow, loud clap, like the black cat clapping meme. One pet photo in, a 6-second clip with clap sounds out.

The original Clapping Cat reel by @merkurianin

Original reel

1 photo you add
6 s clip with sound
9:16 for TikTok, Reels, Shorts
No watermark

No prompt to write: Add your photo and tap once

Create your own

Ready in a few minutes · 35 credits

The clapping cat meme, also called black cat clapping, is an AI clip from September 2026: a black cat sits up on its hind legs, grins with human teeth and slowly claps a pair of human hands at the camera. Here your own cat or dog plays the part. You need one clear photo of your pet.

Example

What the Clapping Cat video looks like

This is the original reel that started the trend. Your video is a new clip made from your photo in the same style, not a copy of these shots. No two runs come out the same.

Original reel by @merkurianin, 4 s

The original reel by @merkurianin: his black cat sits up on a tiled floor, grins with human teeth and claps a pair of human hands. The cat's shot from the reel, with its own sound.

Step by step

How to make the Clapping Cat video on MakeViral

Everything runs in the browser. No editing app, no prompt to write, no watermark.

Add your photo
Press "Create your own" and add your pet, whole body. Take it with the camera or pick it from your library.
Press Generate
The button shows the price. MakeViral builds the Clapping cat scene with your photos, then Kling 3.0 animates it for 6 seconds with original sound. You write no prompt.
Download or share
The video is ready in a few minutes as a 9:16 MP4. Download it, share it from your phone, or find it later in your Library.

Which photo works best?

Use one sharp photo of your pet with the whole body in view, ears to paws. The still sits your pet upright and swaps its front paws for small human hands, so the model needs to see the face, the legs and the markings.

Daylight, in focus, eyes open. The face carries the grin, so a sharp face matters most.
A photo taken from a little above works best: the meme is filmed by an owner looking down at the pet.
Pick a photo of the room you want: the prompt keeps your real room and floor.
One animal per photo. With two, the model may merge them.
Cats look closest to the meme, and the prompts work for dogs and other pets too.
Use your own pet, or a pet whose owner said yes.

Where did the Clapping Cat trend start?

The clip comes from Aleksandr Kim, an AI creator who posts as @merkurianin and calls himself the father of two meme cats, a black one named Peep and a ginger one named Poop. On 25 September 2026 he posted the same video on Instagram and TikTok: he hands his black cat a treat, then the cat sits up on the tiled floor, flashes a wide human grin and claps a pair of human hands at him. By 11 October the TikTok post had 43.5 million plays and 6.1 million likes.

The cat is real, but the hands and the grin are AI. In a tutorial two days later, he showed the steps on Higgsfield: a Nano Banana Pro still of his cat with its paws raised, then Kling 3.0 Motion Control, which copied a video of himself clapping. The creepy grin is his own, he explained: he smiled as wide as he could.

From 28 September, green-screen copies put the cat into other people's videos as someone who applauds bad behavior, with captions like "My teacher took my phone..". Know Your Meme added its "Black Cat Clapping" entry on 5 October.

2026-09-25
@merkurianin posts the clip on Instagram and TikTok. By 11 October the TikTok post has 43.5 million plays and 6.1 million likes, and the Instagram reel 2.59 million likes. TikTok
2026-09-27
The creator posts a tutorial: a Nano Banana Pro still of his cat, then Kling 3.0 Motion Control on Higgsfield with a video of himself clapping. TikTok
2026-09-28
@asian5767 posts a green-screen copy captioned "My teacher took my phone..". It has 5.2 million views and 600,000 likes by 11 October. TikTok
2026-09-29
The creator posts a clean clip of the clapping cat for other people's videos and asks them to tag him. It has 1.7 million plays by 11 October. TikTok
2026-10-01
@yeltiktok posts the clapping cat with the caption "Like dang bro be quiet". It has 4 million views and 310,900 likes by 11 October. TikTok
2026-10-05
Know Your Meme adds "Black Cat Clapping", and US Google searches for "clapping cat" reach their highest point so far, about six times the level of 30 September. Know Your Meme

Copy and paste

The Clapping Cat prompts

You do not need these: the one-tap flow runs them for you. A photo prompt puts your photo into the scene, then a video prompt animates it. Want to change them? Copy them and edit them in AI Photo and AI Video.

1 photo: your pet, whole bodyKling 3.06 s · 1080p · 9:1635 credits

Step 1 · Photo prompt

Use the uploaded image as the base. Keep the animal's species, breed, face, eye color, fur color, fur length, markings and body size exactly the same as in the photo. A real phone photo of the same pet at home, taken by its owner standing over it and looking down at it. Keep the same real room from the photo, with the same colors and light, and show the floor around the pet. The pet sits upright on its hind legs in the middle of the floor, like a pet begging for a treat, and looks straight up into the camera with a calm face and a closed mouth. Instead of front paws it has two small human hands: real human hands with five fingers and short nails, about the size of a child's hands, with skin the same color as the fur around them. It holds them together in front of its chest, palms touching, as if it is about to clap. The whole pet is in frame from ears to hind feet, with floor all around it. Soft indoor daylight, natural fur detail, a little phone-camera softness. Photorealistic, not a cartoon, not CGI. Vertical 9:16. Exactly one animal and exactly two hands. No extra paws, no people, no clothes, no camera app interface, no text, no logos.

1156 characters

Step 2 · Video prompt

A real, funny home video filmed on a phone in one continuous shot, from above, by the owner looking down at the pet. Keep the animal's face, fur, markings and its two small human hands exactly as in the image. For the first second the pet sits upright and looks up into the lens with a calm face. Then its mouth slowly stretches into a wide, creepy human grin that shows a full row of straight white human teeth, and its eyes narrow a little. Still grinning and staring into the lens, it claps its human hands slowly and firmly four times, with a short pause between the claps, like a sarcastic slow clap, then holds its hands together and keeps grinning. It stays upright in the same spot: only its face, arms and hands move. The camera stays almost still, with a slight handheld sway. Audio: four slow, loud, real hand claps in a quiet room, and nothing else: no music, no voice, no meow. Exactly one animal and exactly two hands with five fingers each. No extra paws, no extra limbs, no morphing, no cuts, no text, no logos.

1027 characters

Make it in one tap Edit the prompts yourself

How many credits does it cost?

You pay per video in credits, and the create page shows the exact price on the Generate button before you spend anything. The one-tap price covers the scene photo and the video, charged once. One video is 35 credits, so the smallest one-time pack that covers it is $9.99 for 100 credits, with no subscription. The cheaper models are there if you run the prompts by hand in AI Video.

Video model	Settings	Credits
Kling 3.0 (this template)	6 s, 1080p + 1 scene photo, one tap	35
Seedance 2.0 Fast (by hand in AI Video)	6 s, 720p + 1 photo	42
Veo 3.1 Fast (by hand in AI Video)	8 s, 720p + 1 photo	14

One-time packs and plans are on the pricing page. A failed video gives its credits back.

What happens in the clapping cat video, second by second?

Your clip follows the beats of the original, filmed from above like a phone video of a pet on the floor:

Time	What your pet does
0-1 s	It sits upright on its hind legs and looks up into the lens with a calm face, its small human hands held together at its chest.
1-2 s	Its mouth stretches into a wide, creepy human grin with a full row of white teeth.
2-6 s	Still grinning and staring at you, it gives four slow, loud claps, then holds its hands together.

The original reel has no music, just room sound and a few loud claps, so your clip comes with clap sounds and a quiet room, not a song.

Why does it work? The cat looks like a normal pet until it grins. The human teeth and hands are just wrong enough to be funny, and the slow clap reads as sarcastic applause. Know Your Meme describes the cat as someone "applauding bad behavior", and the big copies pair it with captions like "My teacher took my phone.." and "Like dang bro be quiet".

How does MakeViral make it, and what does it cost?

The template works in two steps, the same route the creator described in his tutorial: first a still, then a video.

The still. Nano Banana 2 takes your photo and sits your pet upright in your room, with two small human hands instead of front paws, held together at its chest. The fur, the face and the markings stay as in your photo.
The video. A video model animates the still for 6 seconds: the grin, the slow claps and the clap sounds.

	Standard (default)	Best
Video model	Kling 3.0	Seedance 2.5
Length	6 s	6 s
Frame	Vertical 9:16, 1080p	Vertical 9:16, 720p
Sound	Claps and room sound, no music	The same
Price	Lower	Higher

The exact price shows on the Generate button before you spend anything, and the video waits in your Library when it is ready. You write no prompt.

Why not copy the original reel itself? The cat's shot in the reel lasts under four seconds, and the rest of the reel shows the creator. A copy of that shot would cost more and would put your pet into his home. The still keeps your pet in your own home, like his cat in his, and the hands come from the still, so the video model only has to move them.

What goes wrong, and how do you fix it?

Problem	Fix
Your pet keeps its paws, or gets more than two hands	Run it again. A photo where the front legs are clear helps. You can also use "Edit the prompts yourself" to make the still first and animate the one you like.
The grin is small or comes late	Run it again, or pick Best.
A hand blurs during a clap	Fast hand moves can blur in AI video. Run it again if it bothers you.
Your pet looks less like its photo	Use a sharper photo in daylight, with the face turned to the camera.
Your pet walks off, or the clip cuts to another shot	The prompt asks for one shot in one spot. Run it again or pick Best.
The video model refuses the photo	Some photos get refused. The credits come back; try another photo.

Every run is a new take, so results differ. If one take is not creepy enough, run it again.

Which caption, sound and hashtags should you post it with?

Your clip comes with its own sound, slow claps in a quiet room and no music, so it is ready to post as it is. If you want the trend sound instead, two of the three copies Know Your Meme lists use the TikTok sound "original sound - Green Screen Memes"; add it in the app when you post.

Captions make this meme. Use it as a reaction to someone who just did something they should not: "My teacher took my phone..", "Like dang bro be quiet", or your own, such as "my cat when I finally get out of bed at 2 pm".

Hashtags: #clappingcat (2,430 TikTok videos and 52.9 million views, all time, on 11 October 2026), #clappingcatmeme (started 28 September, 515 videos and 22.9 million views) and #blackcatclapping. Keep the platform's AI label on. The trend's creator is @merkurianin; tag him if you want to credit the original.

Want your pet in more trends? Make it the tiny hero of the knight cat AI video, or make it dance with the AI dancing pet video.

FAQ

Clapping Cat trend questions

What is the clapping cat meme?

It is an AI video meme from September 2026, also called black cat clapping. A black cat sits up on its hind legs, grins with human teeth and slowly claps a pair of human hands at the camera. People post it as a reaction to someone who praises bad behavior. On this page you can make it with your own cat or dog.

Is the black cat clapping video real or AI?

AI. The black cat is the creator's real pet, but its human hands and human grin are AI-made. The creator, @merkurianin, showed the steps in a tutorial on 27 September 2026: a Nano Banana Pro still of his cat, then Kling 3.0 Motion Control, which copied a video of himself clapping and smiling.

Who made the original clapping cat video?

Aleksandr Kim, an AI creator who posts as @merkurianin on TikTok and Instagram. He posted the clip on 25 September 2026, and by 11 October the TikTok post had 43.5 million plays and 6.1 million likes. His profile calls him the father of two meme cats, a black one named Peep and a ginger one named Poop.

What does the clapping cat meme mean?

It is sarcastic applause. Know Your Meme says the cat stands for someone applauding bad behavior. The biggest copies pair it with captions like "My teacher took my phone.." and "Like dang bro be quiet": the cat claps at someone who just did something they should not.

How do I make my own cat clap with AI?

Press "Create your own", add one full-body photo of your cat and press Generate. MakeViral first makes a still of your cat sitting up with two small human hands, then animates it: the grin, four slow claps and the clap sounds. You get a 6-second vertical clip in a few minutes, and you write no prompt.

Can I make my dog clap like the black cat?

Yes. The prompts say "the animal", not "the cat", and keep the breed, the fur and the markings from your photo, so a dog gets the same human hands, grin and slow clap. The original stars a black cat, so cats look closest to it.

How long is the clapping cat video, and does it have sound?

6 seconds, vertical 9:16, as an MP4 file: 1080p with Standard, 720p with Best. It has its own sound, slow claps in a quiet room with no music, like the original reel.

Can I put the original black cat into my own video?

Not on MakeViral: this template makes your own pet clap. The creator shared a clean clip of his clapping cat on TikTok on 29 September 2026 for other people's videos and asked them to tag him, so use that clip, with credit, if you want the original cat.

Does the clapping cat video cost credits?

Yes. Each video costs credits, and the create page shows the exact price on the Generate button before you spend anything. Standard (Kling 3.0) costs less than Best (Seedance 2.5). If a video fails, the credits come back.

Why does my pet keep its paws, or look different from my photo?

The model rebuilds your pet from one photo, so a dark, blurry or cropped photo leaves it guessing. A sharp, full-body photo in daylight helps most. Every run is different, so a second run can give clearer hands and a wider grin.

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Clapping Cat: Make Your Pet Grin and Clap Like the Black Cat

What the Clapping Cat video looks like

How to make the Clapping Cat video on MakeViral

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