Cats can, famously, have little a salami. But can cats really have little a salami?

The "cats can have little a salami" meme is the best kind of meme: a single sentence applied to every possible post like a gorgeous, nonsensical chorus. (See: "They did surgery on a grape.")

The phrase comes from a typo in a blog post called "Can My Cat Eat Salami," which was published in 2017 by San Diego-based salami and sausage company The Meatmen. (The business is no longer in operation.) Instead of writing "Cats can have a little salami," as we're sure was the intent, this is what the author went with:

Image: The Meatmen

The post had good SEO, apparently, and appeared high on Google search results when people googled things like "Can cats have salami?" Once the typo was discovered, it circulated on Tumblr, then made its way, steadily, to Twitter. Now here we are, spouting it off at will like a quote from Mean Girls. How time flies.

when I’m out for dinner knowing cats can have a little salami pic.twitter.com/a0V9I3pZNs — goth mothra (@acechhh) November 17, 2019

becoming extremely emotional at work thinking about cats can have little a salami — molly ringwald (@dumbguybrain) November 18, 2019

“i can haz cheezburger” walked so “cats can have little a salami” could run — el (@bunionactivist) November 17, 2019

haven't stopped thinking about how cats can have a little salami — ava wolf (@wownicebuttdude) November 11, 2019

120. cats can have little a salami.... pic.twitter.com/KYDYhdJHQU — GOWONIE (@jiwooyeri) May 18, 2019

roses are red

summer nights are balmy

cats can have a little a salami — cute dumpster fire (@pududeer) November 12, 2019

Cat owners may actually want to know, though, whether cats can have little a salami. The original post was probably written in good faith, but when it comes to cats and salami — two precious things — it's always good to fact check.

Luckily, a very small amount of salami is probably fine for your cat, though you definitely shouldn't make it a staple of their diet. "A little probably won’t hurt them but I wouldn't make it the principal dietary staple," said Dr. John Stramaglia, a veterinarian at Broad River Animal Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut. "And [I] would avoid spicy."

So a little slice on holidays? Great! A bowl of salami chunks? Definitely not. See, it's what you assumed anyway.

One important warning: Be sure not to misquote the original meme as multiple well-meaning users have done in the past few days. It's not "cats can have a little salami." It is "cats can have little a salami." Enormous difference. Really cannot be overstated. Thank you.