How this internet-famous cat sparked a petition to change Kamloops's name | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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How this internet-famous cat sparked a petition to change Kamloops's name

Tank went viral because of this photo, which was originally shared to Marchment's Instagram page.
Image Credit: INSTAGRAM / Tayler Marchment

Tank the Fruit Loops-loving cat became internet famous a couple of years ago with a viral meme and now the feline is the centre of a petition to get Kamloops to change its name.

When Tayler Marchment took a photo of her pal Tank and posted it to Instagram, she had no idea the chunky calico would soon become a viral meme.

“My Instagram was public for a while and I guess someone just stumbled across the picture and took it. A couple of months later I noticed it, and the memes were going everywhere. It was crazy,” Marchment says.

Marchment was born and raised in Kamloops, where she lived with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, who is Tank’s owner. When Marchment moved to Ontario to be closer to her grandmother, Tank stayed behind with her mother in Kamloops.

Marchment says 10-year-old Tank would often join her for breakfast, which is when she snapped the original photo that went viral.

“I would eat the Fruit Loops, and then give her the bowl so she could lick the milk out of it.”

The meme went viral on Aug. 7, 2017, according to this meme-tracking website. Various forms of the meme have appeared since, with Tank being photoshopped into different environments, almost always fixated on Fruit Loops.

Someone took the photo off of Marchment's Instagram page and turned Tank into a viral meme.
Someone took the photo off of Marchment's Instagram page and turned Tank into a viral meme.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED / Know Your Meme

When one meme lover discovered the similarity between the name of Tank's favourite cereal and the name of the city she lives in, they decided to take action.

Tank fan James Leigh started a petition to change the city’s name to better reflect the meme royalty that lives within. Although Marchment doesn’t personally know Leigh, she thinks his petition to change Kamloops to Kamlööps is a great idea.

“I just received a message on the page I made for Tank and it said, ‘Here’s this petition'... I think it’s awesome,” she says.

Marchment says since Tank is so big, she hasn’t been able to groom herself for years, which has resulted in matted fur and six-inch “dreadlocks.”

She says her mom and boyfriend can't afford to take care of the problem.

”Recently there was a fake GoFundMe... so I figured if anyone was going to make one, it was going to be me, and it was going to be legit.”

Marchment has been working with the Tranquille Animal Hospital and trying to find the best method to rid Tank of her matted fur, which she says may take a couple of visits.

A spokesperson from the animal hospital says Tank will need to have blood work done and be sedated for the grooming. Her first visit is booked for Nov. 18.

Tank is set to get a ‘lion shave’, meaning the furry feline will be able to show off her full-bodied figure. Marchment says Tank is working on slimming down thanks to help from her owners.

“She has lost a bit of weight, I’ve seen pictures of her recently and she does look a little better for sure,” Marchment says.

If you want to contribute to the cost of the grooming you can go to the GoFundMe page here.


To contact a reporter for this story, email Jenna Wheeler or call (250) 819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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