People are sharing videos of their pets as baby animals as part of a viral TikTok trend

• TikTokers are sharing videos comparing their grown-up pets to what they looked like in their infancy.
• The viral send is set to a version of Usher and Alicia Keys' "My Boo," mashed up with a popular Vine cover of the song.
• Many of the videos associated with the trend have millions of likes and show puppies, kittens, pet pairs, and other animals compared to their older selves.

Viral animal videos are a cornerstone of virtually every social media platform, and TikTok is certainly no exception. While there has been a multitude of pet-related trends in the past, some of which experts have said could potentially be harmful towards pets themselves, a current viral trend has people showing how much their pets have grown up.

Set to Usher and Alicia Keys' 2004 song "My Boo," the videos hinge on one lyric from the song: "It started when we were younger, you were mine / My boo," first showing a video of a pet - or a pair of them - doing something fully grown up, and then showing a video of them doing something similar in the past.

As a bit of a twist, however, the audios associated with the trend appear to splice in a cover of "My Boo" from a viral Vine video (preserved today on YouTube) that features two young men singing the song. The version of the audio that's circulating in multiple uploads on TikTok sounds identical to an edit uploaded in 2018 on the YouTube channel oofkal.

It's not quite clear exactly where the animal trend started, but one of the first, most popular uploads of the mashup sound was from a May 27 video from user @diorrvhs. In the comments of that video, @diorrvhs credits the sound to the YouTube channel sc6ut; in turn, sc6ut credits inspiration to oofkal's video in the description of theirs.

"My Boo" has been associated with other trends as well, like one in which users rate their friends singing the iconic line and another in which people show both old and new videos of themselves or their friends.

Now, however, the animal challenge has taken over the audios, with videos of puppies, kittens, and baby animals galore amassing millions of likes.

@elinalovesbubbie

He loves this sock till this day, even tho he can’t fit anymore ##fyp

♬ original sound - syd

@seddyshawty

##greenscreenvideo pickle cat

♬ not my audio - kaliah

Some cats have been helping their companions game since they were tiny.

@moonshinecharms

##whenwewereyounger ##cat ##cats ##iroh ##ilovemybaby

♬ original sound - syd

@julpacillo

gamer kitty ##whenwewereyoung ##fyp

♬ not my audio - kaliah

When looking at full-sized cats, it's easy to forget how tiny kittens are.

@matii0064

##fyp ##WhenWeWereYounger

♬ not my audio - kaliah

@alexa.moffatt

Smudge has been making bread since day 1 ##fyp ##itstartedwhenwewereyounger ##cats

♬ not my audio - kaliah

@cremebruleepod

applesauce is all grown up now ❤️ ##greenscreenvideo ##OurType ##fypシ ##cat ##catsoftiktok ##xyzabc

♬ not my audio - kaliah

@gonzang

This, is Gibrious Stone ##cat ##catlovers ##catsoftiktok ##cats ##kitten ##kitty ##baby ##pets ##petsoftiktok ##fyp ##foryou ##4yp

♬ original sound - syd

Plenty of people are showing off what their full-sized dogs looked like as puppies as well.

@dezmondthepitty

Omgg my heart ##started ##dogsoftiktok ##foryou ##pitbull

♬ not my audio - kaliah

@arianavjimenez

My boo ##fyp ##foryoupage ##dog ##puppylove ##love ##pet ##myboo ##whenwewereyounger ##xzybca ##trending

♬ original sound - syd

@goldenboydallas

His favorite activity ##myboo ##startedwhenwewereyounger

♬ original sound - syd

Other creators are showing videos of pets that have been friends for life.

@torriweidinger

ok i’m gonna make abt 50 more of these ##cats ##cute ##fyp ##foryou ##alice ##cute

♬ not my audio - kaliah

@bluthedane

##greatdane ##germanshepherd ##fyp ##foryoupage ##dogsoftiktok ##cute ##blu ##lexi

♬ not my audio - kaliah

@angieprezcceres ♬ not my audio - kaliah

The trend isn't just for cats and dogs - there's plenty of room for chickens, ducks, monkeys, axolotls, and more.

@mateo_cortez

De pollo a pingüino ##foryoupage ##fyp ##foryou ##pollo ##pinguino ##baby ##viral ##parati ##animal

♬ not my audio - kaliah

@markelleberry

So little ##fyp ##ducks ##JingleJangleWithMe ##foryoupage ##cute

♬ not my audio - kaliah

@doctor.raul

He’s got my hair. ##watchmegrow ##myboo ##OnlineDating ##monkey ##marmoset

♬ original sound - syd

@jxck._l

Maxie glow up and yes that’s a mug in his tank (for shelter) ##axolotl ##fyp ##foryoupage

♬ original sound - syd

@nic_nackpaddywhack

What a difference 3 months has made ##foryou ##fyp ##myboo ##opossum ##opossumsoftiktok ##trending

♬ original sound - syd

If there's anything that should be taking over your For You Page, baby animals are a pretty good option.

• Read more:
• TikTok is filled with exotic pets, but experts say their owners don't always know how to handle them
• The 22 most popular pet influencers, from Jiff Pom to Doug the Pug
• A pet owner posted 'heartbreaking' TikTok of the moment her dog died, gaining millions of views, but critics are calling it exploitation
• A TikTok-famous veterinarian addresses the common mistakes pet owners are making