@PepitoTheCat is a

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account operated by a French user named Clément Storck which sends an automated message when his cat, Pépito, leaves or returns to his house. A device monitors Pépito's movements through a cat door. The account sends a message reading "Pépito is out" if it detects him leaving or "Pépito is back home" if he comes back, along with a photo and timestamp. Since Storck created the account in 2011, it has amassed over 892 thousand followers.

History

Pépito is a

black cat A black cat is a Cat, domestic cat with black fur. They may be a specific Purebred, breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular or mixed breed. Most black cats have golden iris (anatomy), irises due to their high melanin pigment content. Bl ...

owned by Clément Storck, a software engineer who lives in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was born in 2007 to the pet of one of Storck's friends, and was gifted to Storck when he was four months old. Storck created a website called PushingBox which can be used to send notifications triggered by real-life events, such as the opening of a door or the ringing of a doorbell. In July 2011, he used the same software to create an automated

account called @PepitoTheCat. Storck used a device to detect when Pépito has used the cat door and positioned a surveillance camera on it. The account sends a message reading "Pépito is out" if he is detected leaving or "Pépito is back home" when he comes back, along with a photo and timestamp. After 2012, a different cat door was used and the account switched from French to English. When Storck moved to Paris in 2015, Pépito remained at his parents' house. By November 2016, the account had 18 thousand followers. In the rare occasions that the account is not regularly updated, his followers have posted about their distress online. On 2 February 2023, Twitter CEO

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

announced that it would no longer support free access to the

application programming interface An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software Interface (computing), interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that des ...

(API) starting 9 February, which third-party developers and automated accounts rely on. However, Musk considered giving innocuous automated accounts with verification access after Storck tweeted in protest of the decision.{{Cite web , last=Leffer , first=Lauren , date=February 6, 2023 , title=Elon Musk Says Actually 'Good' Bots Can Stay on Twitter for Free , url=https://gizmodo.com/twitter-bots-api-elon-musk-pepito-the-cat-1850077791 , access-date=July 16, 2023 , website=

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' () is a design, technology, science, and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the sub-blogs ''io9'' and ''Earther'', which focus on pop ...

The account's followers increased from over 211 thousand followers around this time to 565 thousand by July 2023, to 952 thousand by November 2023.

References

External links

Official account
Twitter accounts