These 30 adorable photos of Ikiru, the king of bleps, will brighten your day during COVID-19

Is it just me or does it feel like we've only been hearing about coronavirus for what seems like an eternity now? COVID-19 hasn't just invaded the physical world, it has also taken over our social media timelines, phone calls, text messages, and whatnot. Add to that the need for social distancing and most of us are already seeing our state of minds go on a downward spiral. Well, how about we take a break from all that and do what we do best: admire cats online. World, meet Ikiru—the absolute king of bleps.

Named after one of his owner's favorite Akira Kurosawa films, Ikiru loves letting his little pink tongue hanging out of his mouth. Amused by the feline's quirk, his parents Rich and Emma from Yorkshire, England, set up an Instagram account for him which has over 33.2k followers today. Speaking to Bored Panda, his cat parents said: "Ikiru is really healthy and our vet told us he has some of the best teeth she has ever seen. Exotic shorthairs have a slightly pudgy face but he’s very energetic and in great shape. Believe it or not, he doesn’t always have his tongue hanging out, but it seems to be a quirk of his, leading to some amusing facial expressions."

"He's loving, affectionate, and grumpy in the best way. Ikiru is also playful and endlessly amusing. One particular quirk is he loves tunneling and hiding underneath things like blankets or sheets of paper, or staring at you upside down from the corner of a room," they added. "We get messages from all around the world saying his silly faces, cuteness, and personality brightens their day. He even inspires fan art, people have some fantastic illustrations which really capture his cheeky character." Yep, he's definitely the cat hero we need today. Check out 30 of his adorable snaps here:

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