Paws At You Meme: The Big-Eyed Snow Leopard Explained

The paws at you meme is a reaction image of a snow leopard whose eyes and face were edited with AI to look like Mei Mei, also known as Tole Tole Cat: huge, round, glossy eyes that seem to beg. It's usually captioned "*paws at you*" followed by a clingy or playful line, very often an invite to play a video game. Since late October 2026 people have also been making AI videos of the big-eyed snow leopard, and of their own cats, dogs and themselves as it, reaching a paw toward the camera. On Paws At You you upload one photo and get that video of your pet (or you).

What Does "Paws at You" Mean?

"*paws at you*" is an older internet roleplay and furry catchphrase, also known from the "Paws at You" copypasta. The asterisks mark it as an action, the way you'd type what your character does in a chat. In this meme it sits in front of the punchline, so the big-eyed snow leopard looks like it's tapping you for attention:

• "*paws at you* hop online"
• "can you share your screen"
• "am i annoying"
• a repeated invite to play a game, or a repeated insult for comedy

Who Is the Snow Leopard, and Who Is Mei Mei?

The base photo shows Himmel, a snow leopard at Ishikawa Zoo in Nomi, Japan. It was posted on X by @black03_white03 on May 25, 2024, where it passed 718,000 views, and shared to r/snowleopards on March 30, 2025.

The eyes come from Tole Tole Cat, also known as Mei Mei, a cat that went viral in 2023 for its huge glossy eyes. Put the two together and you get the names people use for the meme: Snow Leopard Paws at You, Snowmei, the snow leopard Mei Mei, or simply the snow leopard meme.

How the Meme Spread

According to Know Your Meme, the first known AI-edited post came from X user @harvest_skies on October 23, 2026, captioned "forming a collection". It passed 156,600 views in six days. Then the format took off:

• October 25: Instagram user @zer posted a joke about how people ask you to play video games now (34,600+ likes).
• October 27: X user @PhoenixReal902 used it for a repeated insult and passed 1.4 million views and 144,704 likes in about a day.
• October 27: @themeanaest posted a text-chat screenshot captioned "True friendship", with 914,380+ views in one day.
• October 28: @pivotuptilt kept inviting viewers to play Deadlock with it (282,630+ views).
• October 28: the official Epic Games account on X used it to promote its store with "paws at you hop online" (950,220+ views in about 14 hours).

From Reaction Image to AI Pet Video

On October 29, 2026, TikTok user @noperscan posted an AI video of the big-eyed snow leopard, one paw raised toward the camera, captioned "can you hear the wind chimes?". By November 3, 2026 it had 976,100 views and 333,600 likes, and it spread the moving version of the look. Since then people have been making AI videos and photos of their own pets, and of themselves, as the big-eyed snow leopard pawing at the camera. Others redraw different characters in the same pose.

Why People Love It

The joke works because the eyes do all the talking. A wild snow leopard with the pleading eyes of a kitten, pressing a paw toward you, is the perfect picture for every "please play with me" message: the friend who wants you online, the one who asks if they're annoying, the one who won't stop asking. Putting your own cat or dog in that role makes it even more personal, because it's the face that already stares at you like that every day.

What the AI Video Takes From the Meme, and What Comes From Your Photo

From the meme:

• thick, soft, pale grey snow leopard fur with dark rosette spots and a long spotted tail
• huge round glossy dark eyes, about twice the normal size, shining like a pleading kitten's
• a snowy, rocky mountain enclosure in soft overcast daylight, with a few snowflakes
• a close-up in one continuous shot, the camera right in front like a phone held against the glass
• the beats: a stare with a slow head tilt, one paw pressed against the lens and tapped twice, a second head tilt with a tiny mew, then the paw resting on the glass and a slow blink

From your photo:

• your pet's own face, nose, ears and markings, and its breed (a cat or dog moves like a real animal on four legs)
• or, for a person, your own face, hair and skin tone, with a fluffy snow leopard hood with small round ears and big padded paw mittens

The sound is made together with the video: soft wind chimes, a light breeze and gentle paw taps on the glass, with no vocals. It's AI, so every render is a little different. The exact backdrop and eye size aren't guaranteed, and sometimes part of your photo's own background stays in.

Make Your Own Paws At You Video

Go to the generator on the homepage, sign in with Google, upload one clear photo of your pet or yourself, and pick 6, 10 or 15 seconds (6, 13 or 20 credits). You'll get a vertical 9:16 MP4 you can download or share straight to TikTok. For photo tips and posting ideas, read how to make a paws at you video.

Join the Trend Responsibly

• Use a photo of your own pet, yourself, or an adult who agreed to be in the video.
• Don't use photos of celebrities, politicians or other public figures.
• Label your clip as AI-generated when you post it.

Paws At You Meme FAQ

Is the snow leopard photo real?

Yes, the base photo is real: Himmel, a snow leopard at Ishikawa Zoo in Nomi, Japan, photographed by @black03_white03. Only the eyes and face were edited with AI to look like Mei Mei.

Is Mei Mei a real cat?

Yes. Mei Mei, also called Tole Tole Cat, is a cat that went viral in 2023 for its huge glossy eyes. The meme borrows that look; your video shows your own pet with big glossy eyes, not Mei Mei.

What hashtags does the trend use?

The common ones are #pawsatyou, #snowleopardmeimei, #snowleopardmeme and #meimei. Captions usually start with "*paws at you*".

Is this site connected to Ishikawa Zoo, Mei Mei or Epic Games?

No. Paws At You is an independent website, not affiliated with, endorsed by or run by Ishikawa Zoo, the photographer of the original snow leopard photo (@black03_white03 on X), the owners of Tole Tole Cat / Mei Mei, Know Your Meme, Epic Games, TikTok, X, Instagram, CapCut or ByteDance.