About r/IllegallySmolCats
In its own words:
Home to Reddit's most illegally smol cats. Kitties so smol they should be illegal! Icon criminals by u/nmfc1987 and u/jNealB.
The community was created on Aug 19, 2019, which makes it 7 years old. Since Oct 19, 2026, it has gained 2,504 subscribers (+0.17%). Among the 17 communities on our cats list it is number 3 by size.
What sets r/IllegallySmolCats apart
r/IllegallySmolCats is far more image-driven than most big subreddits: 44% of its recent posts are images, against a median of 9% across the Top 100. For its size it is unusually busy: about 15.9 new posts a day per million members, more than 88% of the Top 100. It is also one of the faster-growing big communities: its 0.67% gain since Sep 19, 2026 beats 98% of the Top 100. Its rhythm is strongly tied to time zones: the busiest hour (23:00 UTC) sees about 12.0× as many posts as the quietest (06:00 UTC).
Subscriber growth
Between Sep 19, 2026 and Oct 29, 2026, r/IllegallySmolCats grew from 1,457,878 to 1,467,611 subscribers (+9.7K, +0.67%). That is about 243 new members per day. The chart uses our weekly snapshots (8 so far), so it gets longer every week.
What r/IllegallySmolCats talks about
We read the titles of 135 recent posts (Oct 21–Oct 28), the words that come up most are “smol”, “criminal”, “baby”, “tiny” and “criminals”. Other frequent themes are small, orange, cat, cute, casper and life. Recurring phrases include “illegally smol”, “life sentence”, “smol oranges” and “brain cell”. By format, 44% are images, 36% are galleries and 18% are videos.
Popular post flairs: Criminally Smol (31), Smol and Snoozy (13), Extra Extra Smol (10), Orange You Smol (10), Standard Issue Smol (9), Smol to Lorge (7).
Activity and best time to post
r/IllegallySmolCats gets about 23 new posts a day. The public archive holds 125,747 posts and 1,496,885 comments in total, about 11.9 comments per post. Last week the busiest day was Saturday (24 posts) and the quietest was Tuesday (14). Posting peaks around 23:00 UTC and is lowest around 06:00 UTC.
Rules of r/IllegallySmolCats
The moderators of r/IllegallySmolCats list 12 rules. In short:
- No Reposts
- Be Nice
- Smol Cats Only
- No Joking About Animal Cruelty, Harm, or Death
- Karma Farming and Excessive Cross-Posting is Not Allowed
- No Financial Support Links (Fundraising, Crowdfunding, Wishlists)
- Accurate Flair is Desired
- No Memorial/Graphic Injury Posts
- No Requesting or Offering Medical Advice
- Moderator Discretion
How to join
Open reddit.com/r/IllegallySmolCats and press “Join”. Read the community rules in the sidebar before you post: every subreddit is run by its own volunteer moderators.
Frequently asked questions
How many members does r/IllegallySmolCats have?
r/IllegallySmolCats has 1,467,611 subscribers, which makes it the #724 safe-for-work subreddit in the SubMouse ranking. It added 9,733 members between Sep 19, 2026 and Oct 29, 2026.
When was r/IllegallySmolCats created?
r/IllegallySmolCats was created on Aug 19, 2019, so it has been around for 7 years.
Is r/IllegallySmolCats still active?
Yes. r/IllegallySmolCats gets about 23 new posts a day (average of the last four weeks). Over its lifetime the archive counts 125,747 posts and 1,496,885 comments. In a sample of 135 recent posts we counted 113 different authors.
What is the best time to post in r/IllegallySmolCats?
Based on post counts from Oct 22, 2026 to Oct 28, 2026, the busiest day was Saturday and the quietest Tuesday, and most posts arrive around 23:00 UTC, with the fewest around 06:00 UTC. More posts also means more competition, so a quieter hour can help a post get noticed.
What kind of posts are on r/IllegallySmolCats?
The community describes itself as: “Home to Reddit's most illegally smol cats. Kitties so smol they should be illegal! Icon criminals by u/nmfc1987 and u/jNealB.” Recent post titles often mention smol, criminal, baby, tiny and criminals. Most posts are images (44%).
Is r/IllegallySmolCats SFW?
Yes. Reddit does not mark r/IllegallySmolCats as an 18+ (NSFW) community, and its own rules forbid NSFW content. SubMouse lists safe-for-work subreddits only.
What are the rules of r/IllegallySmolCats?
Join the community on Reddit first, then use “Create post”. r/IllegallySmolCats accepts both text and link posts, with images, videos and galleries enabled. It has 12 posted rules, starting with: “No Reposts”; “Be Nice”; “Smol Cats Only”. Moderators remove posts that break the rules, so read them in the sidebar before posting.
What subreddits are similar to r/IllegallySmolCats?
Communities with similar topics include r/cats (9.5M), r/StartledCats (1.6M), r/nflmemes (1.2M), r/aww (37.9M) and r/MadeMeSmile (12.7M).
Stats from public data (data updated Oct 29, 2026; activity, rules and archive totals via the Arctic Shift archive, Oct 30, 2026). Point and comment counts are archive snapshots and can be lower than on Reddit today. SubMouse is an independent directory and is not affiliated with Reddit or the moderators of r/IllegallySmolCats.