For once, Henri the Existential Cat actually seems to be in a (relatively) good mood in his latest video diary.

“I’ve finally freed myself from subjugation by publishing a book of my philosophical ideas,” he tells viewers, silently enjoying the fact that “for the first time,” his thoughts will be free from the horning in of filmmaker Will Braden, who has shared his musings with the public.

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“For so long I have been aggravated by the unabashed exploitation of the thieving filmmaker,” Henri explains. “He profits shamelessly from my existential despair.”

The crabby cat also shares some of the origins of his angst, revisiting a dream in which he is stuck in a box.

“The cardboard box, a comfort to many cats, was my pit of despair,” Henri says. “And when I reached the top, it toppled from the weight of my ennui.”

But now Braden, it turns out, excludes his furry meal ticket from contract negotiations, despite Henri wearing his nicest tie. But as Henri envisions it, the book will be his own ticket — to freedom.

“No longer will he accept awards for my success,” he muses. Until the familiar smell of cardboard alerts him to the even more depressing truth: that new book is being published, all right — under Braden’s name.

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“This must be a joke,” he sighs. “I should have stayed in the box.”

Watch Henri’s brush with fame — and the inevitable downer — in this video, posted on Tuesday, below.