The most-viewed cat video of all time is Cardboard Tube Scratching Post for a Cat (I Built A Cat Wall Playground) by Raja and David from OutdoorSavannah. This famous cat video has been viewed 2,071,729,522 times across the internet, primarily on Raja and David’s YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok channels. The video was published on February 7, 2023 and details DIY additions to Raja and David’s viral cat wall involving numerous cat shelves, a wooden crate, and a climbing post made from a cardboard tube while David’s cat, Raja, watches.

The video was retitled to “I Build A Cat Wall Playground” on YouTube

What Makes This Video Special

Raja and David want their DIY cat wall videos to be understood and enjoyed by everyone in the world and so they choose to not incorporate any language component that might bar their accessibility. This video is set to music and uses graphic storytelling without a language medium. The particular music chosen for this video is “The Goose Steps High” from Disney’s The Aristocats, making it recognizable to viewers as being evocative of cats. Original sound from the building process is included such as drilling screws into the wall and even an inquisitive chirp from Raja who watches the entire building process. Once the cat wall is built, Raja jumps across its entire length, coming as a surprise to viewers who hadn’t yet seen the scope of this cat wall which circumnavigates the living room. Raja ends her run across the shelves at the Cardboard Tube Scratching Post, the final creation which the video is named after, scratching the doormat material that the post is covered in. Overall, this video is wholesome, simple, inspiring and charming. It touches universal themes of the pet and owner bond, promoting our love for them and dedication to their well-being.

Impact on Cat Enrichment Culture

Raja and David’s video inspired people around the world to build vertical space for cats in their homes. While cat trees have been a common household product for decades, cat shelves arranged on a wall have been less common and this video helped normalize cat walls in homes. As a result, cats have benefited from enjoying more cat-friendly spaces. Raja and David’s goal with OutdoorSavannah has always been to show others how to be more active with their cats and this video serves as the cornerstone of their cat enrichment mission.

Verified Data Explaining The Record-Breaking Achievement

The following totals are based entirely on verified data from video insights on OutdoorSavannah’s social media channels and public video engagement data. Image evidence used to support our claim is publicly available for download here.

Platform	Views¹	Unique viewers²	Watchtime	Link
YouTube	1340.97 million⁵	785.5 million	5.6 million hours	YouTube
Facebook	227.17 million	193.54 million	1.05 million hours	Facebook
Instagram	236.34 million	226.75 million	897,599 hours	Instagram
TikTok	193.35 million	179.81 million	748,878 hours	TikTok
Other³	73.66 million	Unknown⁴	Unknown⁴	Various platforms
Totals	2,071,729,522 views¹	1,385,618,903 unique viewer profiles	8,300,895 hours

1. Views are defined as any amount of playback, minus replays
2. Unique viewers as denoted by each respective platform
3. Includes unauthorized re-uploads on the following platforms: TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Likee, Douyin
4. Unique viewers and Watchtime are private data
5. YouTube viewcount is based on 913.2 million “Engaged views” and an average “Stayed to watch” rate of 68.1%
   

Defining Viewcount

What constitutes a view has differing definitions based on the platform and has changed over time. The following is an attempt to define views for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok during the time period in which the video was primarily in distribution on those platforms.

Facebook / Instagram Reels prior to January 2024 did not count replay in their view metrics. Views, otherwise known as Plays were defined as “the number of times your reel starts to play after an impression is already counted. This metric counts reels sessions with 1 millisecond or more of playback. This metric excludes replays.”

TikTok also appears to exclude replay from their view metrics. There is conflicting information from 3rd party sources but in the TikTok Business Help Center, views are defined as “Number of times your video started to play. For each video impression, plays are counted separately and replays are excluded”.

On Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, distribution of the video primarily occurred during the first half of 2023. On YouTube, the video continued sharing consistently for 2 and a half years, often reaching over 1 million people every day.

YouTube Shorts prior to March 2025 counted views as those who “Stayed to watch” otherwise known today as “Engaged views”. The exact amount of time that someone must stay to watch in order to count as an “Engaged view” is a trade secret to YouTube. Nevertheless, YouTube gives us a percentage of those who “Stayed to watch”. This percentage along with the total amount of “Engaged views” gives us an insight into how many total times the video received playback, making it comparable to the prior view definitions for Facebook / Instagram before 2024 and TikTok.

Frequently Asked Questions

@outdoorsavannah_us Cardboard Tube Scratching Post for a Cat #cat ♬ original sound – Raja and David | YT,FB,IG,Snap