Sunday, February 27, 2011

Skype's Disappearing Cat and Other Hidden Icons

Skype has some hidden emoticons not listed in the standard sub-menu of their chat window.  The complete list can be seen here.

However, there are a couple more that have caused people to think they may have a virus or wonder why exactly they are seeing:

1)  The disappearing cat.

How to recreate it:  hold down the keys C-A-T at the same time.
What happens:  a gray cat holds out its paw and eventually disappears.
Why:  this indicates that the typer's cat may be stepping on the keyboard.

2)  The disappearing hands.

How to recreate it:  hold down any three keys at the same time.
What happens:  two hands appear to wrap over the top of a line on the screen and eventually disappears.
Why:  this indicates the typer is probably leaning on the keyboard.

It's somewhat a mystery that Skype wouldn't let its users know what these are supposed to mean to the user.

58 comments:

  1. Does it work only for the Windows version of Skype? Because I can't recreate it on my Mac :(

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  2. Any* three keys in a contiguous straight line pressed simultaneously produce the hands. Any* other three keys produce the cat.

    * Almost any: some combos cause my kb to lock.

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  3. it did not work please tell me how does it work!!!!

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  4. win7 latest version - doesn't work

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    Replies
    1. no you press c, then a then t to right like cattttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt and the cat will appear its not hard ...

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  5. when my friend couldnt figure it out she tried to copy and paste mine but the quote said december 1899 :P

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  6. i hope i get a cat soon to make it accurate ;o

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  7. it so does work! i think its a bit annoying that it only appears 4 a second though... :(

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  8. Tried the 'CAT' one and it works!

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  9. catttttttttttttttttttt

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  10. how do u do tha hand thing?????

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  11. what the difference between hold down and type? i'm sorry, not so good in english. I do not know how to make the cat show up.

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    Replies
    1. you hold all the letters down at same time

      Delete
    2. Holding down is keeping your finger down on a particular key.
      Typing is briefly pressing the keys down, often in certain order. Or something close to that anyway.

      Delete
  12. this does not work because when you delete cat gone :(

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  13. Works - press down the keys and keep them down and a cat will appear :)

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  14. both of them work kool!

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  15. I wish people I message could see the cat - not just me *meow*

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    Replies
    1. they can see it...

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    2. They can see it. :) Thats actually how i found out about this cute cat :D

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    3. omg noobs u can see it -.- Hey ive made the pencil before but now it flashes up briefly and does not last the whole animation, its soo annoying I want to show a friend but cant get it to work properly, help!

      Delete
  16. It seems to stay until you type another message...

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  17. I cant get it to work at all

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  18. The cat shows up in place of the pencil animation, which shows that you are typing. It is a joke to say that your cat is walking on the keyboard instead.

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    Replies
    1. This is the only accurate response I have seen to date. I think there may be two separate cat motion icons being confused here.

      One seems to be a cat paw which indicates a cat walking on the keyboard. (Anyone with house cats has experienced this, so it works as a clever gesture.)

      But there is another cat that simply replaces the pencil. It is not a paw - it is a whole walking cat with typical lifted upright tail and all. This appears every time one types, having nothing to do with typing speed or one holding multiple keys, etc.

      Years back, I had this auxiliary add-on software offered right through the Skype portal which allowed me to choose this cat. But I would like to change this back to the default pencil for business matters as not to confuse people.

      (People like to tell me how cool the cat is and want me to show them how to do it, but I cannot do this because I no longer see the option for that. I cannot even switch this back to the pencil for myself.) But this distracts from business.

      Anyway, anyone know how to toggle between the walking cat and the default pencil?

      Delete
  19. so if your pencils is set to not show then this will not work right?

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  20. lo mas gracioso es que ni me enteraba de la existencia de ese gato ... si mi gato no se paseaba por encima del teclado

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  21. type /me into skype

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  22. if u press jks the cat appears to

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  23. glr and it works!!!!! hold it there same time (IT WORKS YAY!)
    love it :)

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  24. If this shit is not working for you, just go to Tools -> Options -> IM & SMS -> IM -> Check the "Show when I am typing" -> Save... Enjoy

    If this is not working after you've checked this... then you are just retarded :)

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    Replies
    1. fuck you i'm retarded because skype doesn't do this

      fuck you dude

      Delete
  25. this cat thing is really cool it works 4 me and my friends are like how did u do that its so cool

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  26. I totally works!!! you don't even send it! you just hold c a t down!!!

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  27. The cat always works but the any 3 letters that you hold down doesnt work

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  28. You have to have your "Show when I'm typing" checkbox in IM settings enabled in order to make this work.

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  29. any three many keys stocks, means cat on keyboard... ^_^

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  30. As long as you leave type produced from three keys pressed down all at once, the cat stays. Erase them, the cat disappears. :-)

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  31. dœs this work on andrøid?

    Thnx

    Anonymous

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  32. dude I was blown by this! cause LOL im still like WOW skype WOW. My GF is sleeping atm and we have skype open and lol her cat is actually sleeping/stepping on her laptop and I had to screenshot that cat thing appear! I was like WOW. SRSLY HOW DID THEY KNOW!

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  33. My cat did that too. After she had turned my display upside down :S LOL ... really funny

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  34. Very strange....Microsoft should mention this somewhere...I though it was some type of a virus!

    Thanks guys!
    Jon

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  35. Appreciate you sharing, great post.Thanks Again. Really Great.Buy Youtube Subsribers

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  36. this is awesome! i have tried it just now and its there, but when you delete the letter i disappears! this is just great!!
    Buy Soundcloud Plays

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  37. aber wie geht das bitte mit den Händen ??
    but how does it work with those Hands?? i dont understand..(:

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  38. Pretty good post. your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog post.
    Skype Technical Help please visit the link.

    Thankyou
    Lacy Brown

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  39. if it doesn't work, try using the keys A-S-J instead
    Also, type :3 and send this to ur friend. you might have to update your skype first

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  40. It really works! hahah I love the cat now it's very cute gray pawn of a cat. well skype smileys has many hidden smileys. Now is the time to try all those hidden smileys.

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  41. i dont think this works in 2015 or windoes 7 or higher ;/

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  42. Excellent post! thanks for sharing it. Visit More Info :- Skype support Call +1-800-231-4635 USA (Toll Free).

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