Kate Miltner recently received her Master's Degree from the London School of Economics for her 98-page dissertation on the appeal of LOLCats. That's right, Cheezfrends, we're the focus of some SRS ACADEMIC STUDIES!

She found that LOLCats consumers tend to fall into one of three groups. The first group, "Cheezfrenz," should sound more than a little familiar to some of us:

The first group, which Miltner labeled "Cheezfrenz," was made up of LOLCats diehards. "They are invested LOLCat lovers whose interest in LOLCats generally stems from their affinity for cats," she explains. They tended to be involved in I Can Haz Cheezburger (sic), the website of the LOLCat-loving community. Miltner found that for these women (and they were all women in her sample), the ICHC community appealed because it was, in the words of one "Cheezfrend" "a place to be safe and kind" for people who "want to be nice, want to be happy, want to give support, want to smile." Cheezfrenz recognized and bonded with each other (i.e. formed an in-group, in sociology-speak) by their correct use of LOLspeak (the grammar and spelling of LOLCats).

The second group, which Miltner calls "MemeGeeks," is predominately male and is more interested in creating LOLCats that refer to more obscure memes. Their community is centered more around Tumblr and Reddit. The third group is the "casual users" group. This group is split evenly between males and females. People in this group find and share LOLCats with their friends and family while bored at work.

Regardless of the group, however, Miltner says, "When it came to LOLCats, sharing and creating were often different means to the same end: making meaningful connections with others." In this way, she argues, fans both hardcore and casual enrich society and make people smarter.

We'd have to agree!

You can read Miltner's dissertation here (PDF).

HELLO SIR DO YOU HAVE A MINUTE TO LEARN ABOUT GOD'S GOOD NEWS?

Love LOLcats? Who doesn't?! There are so many more over here!

Strange noises from the walls of a South Florida home eventually yield a trapped kitten, rescued with the help of a butcher knife and brave hands to pull the creature to safety. (April 20)

Love cute and funny animal videos? We have a whole site for them!

Corky, a seven-month-old kitten, was born with a congenital deformity called Bilateral Anthrogryposis. This means that Corky's hind legs are backwards and crisscrossed.

Though Corky was able to get around despite his deformity, a talented orthopedic surgeon named Dr. Dan Burchill invented a surgery to repair Corky's legs.

Click here to read more about Corky and to see images of this adorable kitty before and after surgery.

Meet Roosevelt, a Border Collie whose two front legs are deformed. But Roosevelt's disability isn't stopping him from enjoying life! His owner, Stephanie Fox, had a special wheelchair created just for Roosevelt, and now this special dog can run and herd as he was meant to do.

The only difference between Roosevelt and other dogs is that instead of a collar I snap on his wheels to take him out. … People think he should have been put down because they think he's suffering," she said. "But he wakes up happy every day. If you had a child with a disability you'd try to enrich them, give them opportunities. So why not do the same with a dog?"

Meet Meow, a kitteh who weighs in at more than 39 pounds (the equivalent of a 600-pound human). He is currently up for adoption at the Santa Fe Human Society. They are hoping to find Meow a home with loving humans who can help him lose some weight and become healthier.

Love cute and funny animal videos? We have a whole site for them!

Editor's Note: This video contains somewhat graphic imagery of a fatally wounded dog.

Animal control officers in La Puenta, CA are seeking the owner of (or a new home for) a brave two-year-old Labrador who refused to leave the side of her companion, another dog who had been struck and killed by a car.

According to the County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control, Grace was "laying in the street next to another dog, which was motionless and had suffered obvious head trauma."

Grace has been moved to a local shelter, with the hopes that, if her owner does not turn up, she will be quickly adopted into a loving home.

According to the video uploader, the people filming this video "risked their lives walking out into traffic to put up traffic cones... and called for help." They were not in any way involved with the original accident, said to be a hit-and-run.

Though incredibly tragic, it is touching to see Grace's extreme compassion and care. It is something that, obviously and unfortunately, not all humans possess. We hope Grace is welcomed into a suitably amazing home.