Keyboard Cat is a video-based internet meme featuring a cat playing a musical keyboard. The original video, created in 1984 by Charlie Schmidt, shows Fatso the cat seemingly playing a cheery tune on a keyboard, with Schmidt cleverly manipulating the keys off-camera. Although Fatso passed away in 1987, the spirit of Keyboard Cat lived on.

In 2009, the video gained viral fame when Brad O’Farrell, with Schmidt’s permission, used it at the end of a blooper video, making it seem like the cat was “playing off” the person after a mishap, much like in vaudeville acts. This concept quickly spread online under the name “Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat.”

After Fatso, Schmidt continued the Keyboard Cat legacy with two other cats: Bento, who played until 2018, and now Skinny, the current Keyboard Cat, keeping the meme alive and well.