10 cats that made YouTube's first 10 years

It’s the beginning of the week, so what better way to beat the blues than by pawing through YouTube’s most popular pussycats to mark its 10th birthday.

The Guardian asked YouTube’s trends team to compile a list of the video sharing sites’ most popular feline stars. The countdown is based on views, subscribers and how much “discussion and creativity” its subjects had inspired from an adoring public.

1. Maru

Maru has accumulated more than 289m views on his channel – which also has nearly 500,000 subscribers. A global star.

2. Grumpy Cat 

From books, to films to star appearances, Tardar Sauce (her actual name) is arguably the most famous furry feline in the entire world.

3. Simon’s Cat 

Simon Tofield’s animated cat has generated more than 640m views. After raising £340k via crowdfunding, Simon’s Cat is set to star in a longer 11-minute film. *Paw claps*.

4. Surprised Kitty  

This single, 16-second clip of a cat being tickled has amassed 75m views.

5. BaneCat

No words needed to explain the genius of this.

6. Henri The Existential Cat

This channel, which has nearly 9.5m views for its videos, details the life of a cat struggling to cope with the world and all its catty complexities.

7. Colonel Meow 

Colonel Meow (RIP) has 3m views of his channel and boasted a Guinness World Record for having the longest fur – putting us all to shame.

8. Nyan Cat 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH2-TGUlwu4

Viewed more than 120m times, this tortuous video has inspired many an online discussion and chat board.

9. Keyboard Cat 

His original video has generated nearly 71m views.

10. Sparta Cat

The original Mean Kitty Song was uploaded in 2007, and has since racked up nearly 82m views – acting as a springboard for parent channel SMP Films to build its audience.