BeerCat is used to express a variety of reactions related to drinking, relaxation, or casual skepticism. The emote typically conveys:
- Taking a drinking break or celebrating with a beer
- A 'cheers' moment in chat
- Casual judgment or side-eye while sipping
- Relaxed, chill vibes during a stream
- Ironic or sarcastic approval of something happening on stream
The cat's naturally unimpressed expression adds a layer of humorous detachment to drinking-related situations.
BeerCat is a variation of the popular Smudge the Cat meme, featuring the white cat (Smudge) sitting at a dinner table with a confused or judgmental expression. The original photo of Smudge was taken in 2018 and became viral when paired with a screenshot from Real Housewives. The BeerCat variant specifically shows the cat with a beer glass, and has been used as a custom emote across various Twitch channels and third-party emote platforms like BetterTTV, FrankerFaceZ, and 7TV since around 2019-2020. The emote capitalizes on the cat's naturally skeptical facial expression combined with the drinking context.
