Article posted: 2/9/2013 7:13 AM

Internet cat stars scratch the surface for fame<

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Festival attendee, Mike Bridavsky and his cat, Lil Bub, pose with Golden Kitty Award-winner William Braden at the Walker Art Center Internet Cat Video Festival in Minneapolis.

Associated Press/August 2012

This undated publicity image provided by I Can Has Cheezburger shows Ben Huh, who was key in launching the cat meme when he and a group of investors bought the I Can Has Cheezburger site in September 2007. The site, now an empire of sites for Huh, allows users to generate captions on cat photos using LOLcat speak, a language with spelling and syntax all its own.

Associated Press

Scottish fold Maru rests in a cardboard box in Japan. After years of viral YouTube viewing and millions of shares, the cat stars of the Internet are coming into their own in lucrative and altruistic ways. Roly poly Maru, the megastar in Japan with millions of views for nearly 300 videos since 2007, has three books and a calendar, among other swag for sale.

Associated Press/May 2011

This publicity photo provided by I Can Has Cheezburger shows an image of a cat by Kristine Oakhurst using LOLcat speak, "I said I needs a drink ... not a metal bowl wif water." Ben Huh, was key in launching the cat meme when he and a group of investors bought the I Can Has Cheezburger site in September 2007. The site, now an empire of sites for Huh, allows users to generate captions on cat photos using LOLcat speak, a language with spelling and syntax all its own.

Associated Press

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The first Internet Cat Video Film Festival drew a Woodstock-esque crowd of more than 10,000 — people, that is — to a Minneapolis art museum in August. “People were spilling out into the streets. It kind of took our breath away. You hit the people that are the cat lovers but you also get people who just like sharing something on the Internet, and it kind of reaches across age groups,” said the museum’s Scott Stulen, who worked on the festival and helped curate entries.