Viral meme of mask-wearing cat turns into a toy figure in coronavirus-hit China

The internet is a treasure trove of animal memes, but one probably resonates more than the others now in coronavirus-hit China. A photo of a mask-wearing cat has been making the rounds on Weibo recently, garnering laughs and tugging at heartstrings far and wide.

The idea was the brainchild of Japanese hobbyist Meetissai, who specializes in transforming funny animal pictures scoured from the web into what’s known as garage kits: Homemade resin model figures. Last week, Meetissai tweeted her new creation -- a 3D incarnation of the famous health-conscious kitty.

Meetissai’s tweet went viral almost instantly, and it’s not hard to see why it might have struck a chord. Orders for masks have risen sharply in parts of Asia, the US and Europe as people scramble for supplies to protect themselves from the new virus. In China, local authorities have even taken to flying drones over cities to spot and warn citizens who are out and about without wearing a mask.