You’ve likely seen a hairless cat named Bingus surfing the Internet. But where did he come from, and why in the world is he hairless?
Bingus is a Sphynx, a bald cat breed that’s playful, affectionate, and highly intelligent, despite what the viral Bingus memes portray him as. The “Hi Bingus” meme first appeared in 2020. Now, an army of Instagram users dedicates their time to creating hilarious memes about the hairless cat.
The Bingus Meme That Started It All
In March 2020, Instagrammer Subaru Rocks shared a video on Instagram about the cat. Thousands of Bingus memes erupted from that one video, but the most common one is the “Hi Bingus” meme.
The meme found its way over to Reddit, where popularity grew like wildfire. One post, in particular, received 3,700 upvotes, made it to the front page of Reddit, and received the Post of the Month Award.
Pretty soon, fans shared the meme on Twitter (now X). But the meme started to drop in popularity after a while. That is until YouTuber Corpse Husband discovered Bingus.
Corpse Husband, Bingus, and Among Us
Corpse Husband is a popular horror YouTuber, raking up to 20 million views per video. He tweeted about the hairless cat multiple times and started an inside joke during his Among Us streams. When he was the imposter and a fan shouted “Bingus!” he’d kill the person standing next to his fan. His subscribers loved it, and Bingus once again became an Internet sensation.
Who Is Bingus in Real Life?
As much as we love Bingus, we don’t know much about the cat itself. Someone on Discord discovered the owner through Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. So, we know Bingus is in China. Sadly, the owner deleted the account shortly after. We assume he wanted to remain anonymous. Or maybe it wasn’t the right cat. With memes, you can’t really know for sure. We suppose Bingus will have to remain a mystery.
Do Sphynx Cats Make Good Pets?
So, what about these Sphynx cats? Do these cats make good pets, or is Bingus the exception?
The answer is yes, Sphynx cats are wonderful pets, but they are slightly different from your average house cat. Aside from the lack of fur, Sphynxes are more lively than other domestic cats. They climb on everything and follow their owners around like lost puppies.
Contrary to popular belief, Sphinxes require more grooming than cats with fur. Because they don’t have a coat, dirt sticks to Sphynx’s skin and can cause irritation. They bathe themselves, but these cats need a bath with cat shampoo once weekly to remove excess dander and dirt.
A Sphynx cat could be right for you if you can handle the grooming requirements and mischievous behavior. Who knows? Maybe you could name it Bingus.
Conclusion
Bingus has his own cozy corner of the Internet with thousands of other famous social media pets, and we’re happy he does. Fans still create laughable memes, giving everyone some humor to carry them throughout the day. We appreciate the effort, and we appreciate Bingus, too.
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Featured Image Credit: Igor Lukin, Pixabay
