What is the ‘Quiet Place’ cat challenge? The trend explained
Would your cat survive the apocalypse? What if they couldn’t meow, hiss or loudly purr?
“A Quiet Place: Day One,” the sci-fi prequel and third installment in the “Quiet Place” franchise, stars Lupita Nyong’o and “Stranger Things” alum Joseph Quinn, but the breakout star of the film turned out to be a cat.
Named Frodo in the film, the leading kitty role was played by Nico and Schnitzel, two cat actors so purrtastic that Nyong’o, who was formerly afraid of of cats, went out and adopted her own after filming.
While the film grossed $52 million after its release in June, cat lovers couldn’t resist pointing out one important inconsistency in the film about other-worldly monsters who touch down in New York City and kill anyone who makes a sound: our beloved furry companions are not known for staying perfectly quiet like Frodo does.
Inspired by Nico and Schnitzel’s runaway stardom, netizens have taken to TikTok to test the theory: Would my cat survive in the “Quiet Place” apocalypse?
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
The question has given birth to the delightful “A Quiet Place” cat challenge, in which users record themselves holding their cats as they make a break for it in an attempt to save them both from theoretical monsters. The results are predictably hilarious.
The “Quiet Place” cat challenge
The rules of the challenge are simple enough: grab your cat, grab your camera and run for your life.
In an attempt to emulate the high-intensity action of running from alien monsters with a cat gripped in your arms like Eric (Quinn) and Samira (Nyong’o) did in the movie, cat owners have taken to scooping their feline friends up and sprinting back and forth in front of their cameras.
The goal is to see how quiet your cat would stay in a world where silence is the only way not to get eaten by the invaders. Unfortunately, as anyone who has missed a cat’s breakfast time by a few minutes may have guessed, most of TikTok’s cats were not up to the challenge.
In one such clip with over 7 million views shared by user @sustopodcast, the poster introduces his black cat named Margaret, saying, “We’re going to see if we would survive in ‘A Quiet Place’ if we had to run from the aliens.” While Margaret looks pretty docile in her owner’s arms, she quickly fails the challenge by letting out a raspy meow as the pair fly by the camera.
“We wouldn’t (survive) and she got a treat after this,” reads the caption.
“Sounds like Honda Civic,” joked one comment. “They always meow at the worst times possible,” said one while another said, “Margaret will be the end of you.”
‘A Quiet Place Day One’:Lupita Nyong’o says movie helped her cope with loss of Chadwick Boseman
Owners of multiple cats take the ‘Quiet Place’ challenge
Multi-cat owners got in on the challenge by testing each of their pets individually, like in a post by @birchcanread viewed 6.9 million times. In it, the poster gives each of her six cats a try, starting off immediately with Pumpkin, a fluffy orange and white cat who lets out a high-pitched squeak as soon as the challenge begins.
“I fear we would have died,” says his owner. “But you’re cute.”
Four of @birchcanread’s six cats “failed with flying colors,” before the final two, Marshmallow and Goldie, redeemed the group with their sleepy, silent stares into the camera.
“The cat in ‘A Quiet Place’ was too quiet, I was like, ‘IMPOSSIBLE!!'” said one comment beneath the video, while another joked that one of the louder cats, Amelia, would get them all eaten by monsters in the movie.
“Marshmallow said ‘I’m not going down with the rest of ya’ll,'” theorized another.
And while there are more perfectly quiet kitties like Marshmallow and Goldie on the trend, most videos result in some very funny, meow-filled fails.
What have we learned from this trend, fellow feline fans? Something most of us probably already knew: while Frodo may be the movie protagonist of the year, he is probably not the most representative example of our cat best friends.
