Mehlville Family's Awkward Pet Pic Goes Viral

All Cynthia Schleicher wanted for Christmas was a photo her sons Nick and Jake, a memento to remember them by.

Be careful what you wish for.

The hilariously awkward photo of her sons holding a cat with its legs spread in front of an outer space backdrop became an Internet sensation and is now featured in the recently released New York Times best-selling book Awkward Family Pet Photos.

“We’re not used to being little celebrities,” Schleicher said, of Mehlville. “See what happens when you give Mom what she wants for Christmas?”

The photo was even featured in an ABC News story, where the reporter held a blown-up printout of the photo and asked, “Are you sure this is for real?”

“They are brothers, they love their cat, they love space, and they decided to combine all these things,” Mike Bender, co-author of Awkward Family Pet Photos, responded. “When people aren't aware, that’s when its really authentic awkwardness.”

Schleicher said she attributes the photo’s popularity to their 13-pound cat, Murry, who is in “a rather crazy position.”

“Murry is like a slinky,” she said. “When you pick him up, he just kind of flops.”

Her son Nick, an art student in Chicago, had the idea for the photo. He set the backdrop up in the basement of their Mehlville home and picked out the clothes with his brother Jake.

“They have to add a little humor into everything they do,” she said about her sons. “My boys are just weird, in a good way, of course.

“They are just silly, crazy cats— all three of them.”