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Featured era: 2008
Maru
“I am Maru.”
- Featured era
- 2008
- Peak era
- 2008-2011
- Company
- Mugumogu
- Category
- Viral Videos
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On Video
Maru and a big box
Plays from YouTube when you press play. Views, length and date from YouTube, October 2026.
About This Video
- From:
- I am Maru.
- Added:
- April 24, 2009
- Length:
- 1:54
More Videos4 videos
What Was It?
Maru was a Scottish Straight cat in Japan whose love of cardboard boxes made him one of the most famous cats on the internet. His owner, known as Mugumogu, named him after the Japanese word for "round" and began posting videos of him on YouTube in 2008.
On October 25, 2008 she posted a video of Maru trying to squeeze into a cardboard box, and it quickly went viral. Most of the videos that followed are variations on the theme: Maru squeezing into, leaping into or playing with boxes. Mugumogu shared little about herself and called herself his roommate rather than his owner.
The channel won the pet category at Japan's YouTube Video Awards three years running, Maru appeared in ads for Fresh Step and Uniqlo, and in 2016 Guinness World Records certified him as the most-viewed animal on YouTube.
Things You Probably Forgot
- Squeezing into boxes that looked far too small
- The living room swing
- Hana, the kitten who joined him in 2013
- The book I Am Maru
The Story
- 2008 Mugumogu posted the box video that made Maru famous on October 25.
- 2011 The book I Am Maru was published in the United States.
- 2016 Guinness World Records named Maru the most-viewed animal on YouTube.
- 2025 Maru died on September 6, aged 18.
Its Legacy
Maru died on September 6, 2025, at the age of 18. His box videos remain on YouTube, a gentle record of one of the first great internet cats.
Memories
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