The grinning cat is pure Happy Cat Energy: a bright, friendly feline face beaming like it just knocked your water glass over… lovingly. On Apple/iOS it’s an orange-yellow tabby head, front-facing, with pointy ears (pink inner ears), three tidy whiskers on each cheek, wide open black eyes, and a big open-mouth smile with a red mouth—clean, sticker-like, and impossible to misread as anything but delighted. It’s the feline cousin of a classic grin, but with extra internet DNA baked in.
People drop this when they want cheerful, non-threatening hype—“I baked bread and it didn’t implode 😺”, “Got the job 😺”, or “Look at my cat being a loaf 😺.” It carries wholesome, meme-native vibes (cats own the web, after all—Nyan Cat, Keyboard Cat, Cat Distribution System), and a light sprinkle of Cheshire Cat mischief without the sneer. Compared to its siblings: 😸 feels extra giggly with smiling eyes, while 😼 leans sarcastic; 😺 sits in the sweet spot of upbeat and uncomplicated.
In texts and comments, it’s a soft flex, a “heh, I did a thing,” or a friendly reaction that turns down the cringe dial. Stream chats use it for a cozy W, pet pics, or to punctuate a pun with a purr. It can read a bit flirty-cute in DMs, but mostly it’s just sunshine with whiskers—safe for work, safe for grandma, and perfect when regular smileys feel too human and not nearly cat enough.
Definition
A smiling cat with open eyes and open mouth.
Disqus Leave a comment!
Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
This emoji first appeared in OSX / iOS after the iOS 5 update.
Emoji General Information
Twitter Emoji Popularity (Rank)
516 of 2393
Apple/iOS Picture
Google Android Picture
Google Hangouts Picture
Twitter.com Picture
LG Emoji Picture
Samsung Emoji Picture
Phantom Open Emoji Picture
ASCII Conversion
"Short Code" Name
:smiley_cat:
Keywords
Smile, Smiley, Cat, Happy
Previous Names:
Smiling Cat Face with Open Mouth
Unicode Category Information
Unicode Category
Emoticons
Unicode Range
1F600–1F64F
Unicode Subcategory
Cat Faces
Proposed Unicode Information & Notes
Unicode Category
Faces and Smiley's
Unicode Subcategory
Cat Faces
Names & Annotations
SMILING CAT FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH Old name: CAT FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH Temporary Notes: Happy
