Furthermore, the “2021” in the search query acts as a time capsule. Searching for it now feels archaeological. The viewer is not seeking entertainment but evidence —of a self, of a pet, of a year when time both stopped and stretched.
While previous years of cat videos relied on music, the 2021 Oya catalog leaned heavily into Pure Sound . The crackle of kibble in a ceramic bowl, the thump of a cat jumping off a fridge, the squeak of a mouse toy. Viewers reported using these videos to fall asleep or to fight panic attacks. Makoto Oya Cat Videos 2021
Uploaded late 2021, this video shows the harsh reality of island life. It is not all play. Oya captures three cats sharing a single cardboard box in the snow, their breath visible in the cold air. It is melancholic, beautiful, and ultimately warm because you see a volunteer bring them heated pads. Furthermore, the “2021” in the search query acts
The year 2021 was also when platform algorithms began punishing non-optimized content. To upload a video of a cat simply washing its face—no voiceover, no meme text, no “POV”—was a subtly defiant act. Oya’s videos, if they existed, would have been anachronistic: they belonged to the early, gentler YouTube of 2007, yet they appeared in the era of TikTok’s six-second dopamine hits. While previous years of cat videos relied on
(If you want, I can draft a full 600–800 word blog post version or create social captions and thumbnail suggestions.)
While the global pandemic kept many of us indoors in 2021, Oya’s work exploded in popularity, offering a window to the windy, sun-drenched cat islands of Japan. If you searched for you weren't just looking for cute kittens. You were searching for cinematic therapy.