爱思英语编者按：最近Twitter 、facebook上流行起了奇怪的游戏——"cat beard”。把喵星人当胡子使~想不想试试？

Look at me, I'm the cat's whiskers! Poor pets roped in as beards in the latest internet craze

As internet memes go this one is definitely the cat's whiskers.

Bearding involves holding a hapless moggie in front of one's face to give the impression of a glorious, luxuriant beard. And believe it or not, it's catching on.

Some pet owners prefer to simply hold their cats up horizontally for a quick Grizzly Adams imitation, but to others this is little more than cheating.

Trendsetter: The first recorded demonstration of 'cat-bearding' originally posted in 2011

Purrfect: A woman demonstrates the classic cat beard pose - nose-to-nose for the Father Christmas effect

For true bearding aficionados, the classic pose is a little more complex and involves holding the animal vertically nose-to-nose with it looking up for a Father Christmas look.

Feline silly: Another pet owner joins in with the latest internet meme

Get meow-t of here: A well-executed example of horizontal-style cat bearding with the owner's own eyebrows and whiskers creating a dramatic effect

Another pet owner joins in the ludicrous craze

Santa Claws: A long-haired cat creates a great-looking Father Christmas-style growth

Fleasy-does it: With his black short-haired held lazily in front of his face, this owner is obviously an amateur in the word of bearding

But it wasn't until 2012 that the fad began to gather momentum following the creation of a dedicated website cat-beard.com.

Longhair breeds are the most commonly bearded, however there has been a recent surge in the use of shorthairs, tabbies or in some rare cases small dogs

Bearding follows earlier cat-based memes 'breading' (taking pictures of cats with their heads stuck through slices of bread) and 'Cats that look like Hitler'.

A cute grey kitty makes a charming face warmer

Top marks: A spectacular display of bearding, pet and owner in purrfect harmony

Who let the dogs out? A cheeky pooch beats the cats at their own game