Is this the perfect formula for a viral video?

The internet knows no bounds when it comes to strange videos. We saw the Evolution of Dance, the falling grape lady and the panda sneeze uploaded during the early years of YouTube, while later contributions include the infamous wedding entrance dance, Dove’s ‘evolution’ video and the five-second-long dramatic chipmunk.

But many of the most popular videos of all time seem to feature cats or babies – apparently they just appeal to us! So if both are combined, does that make it the ultimate viral video?

YouTuber TexasGirly1979 seems to have got it right. It all starts with her cat, which seems perfectly happy cruising around on a roaming floor cleaner dressed as a shark (just go with it). The video has amassed over 8.5 million views since it was uploaded in 2013.

In another ‘episode’, the same cat follows a duckling around on his Roomba. With over 6.5 million views, the fascination isn’t going away. The inevitable #sharkCAT hashtag emerges…

By the time we reach this later instalment it’s all getting too cute for us to handle: a four-month-old baby – also in a shark suit – watches, wide-eyed, as the cat robots around, indifferent. It’s gained almost 326,000 views in just four days, so no doubt we’ll see this go viral like its predecessors. Watch below!

Sadie Hale