Is this the new #TheDress? Mind-boggling snap shows cat walking up AND down stairs

The optical illusion has been shared across social media after it was posted to 9GAG yesterday.

Many users insist the photo is taken from the top of the steps, looking down as the cat paws its way UP the stairs.

In this interpretation, the white square behind the cat becomes the ground.

However, others have claimed the bright patch is really the sky, pictured from the bottom of the stairs. This would mean the cat is pictured travelling DOWN the staircase.

One user, writing on 9GAG, took the debate surprisingly seriously and argued: "The cat is going up, the tail is used to balance the body of the cat and in this case the tail is elevated upwards so that when the cat uses its rear legs to push up it pushes parallel to the line on which gravity is working on the tail to stabilise itself, the tail is not perfectly in line with the line on which gravity is acting in the photo due to the movement to stabilise the body.

"Doesn't matter, this cat is going places, thats for sure."

Another wrote: "It's going down. Look at the cat's front left paw."

"If the cat belongs to Schrodenger, then it is going both up and down the stairs…," one Reddit user added.

Pointing out the similarities between the feline debate and the now-infamous discussion over a #TheDress, another Reddit user wrote: "The cat is white and gold."

#TheDress was one of the most widespread viral trends of the year.

It centred on a single photo of a two-tone dress which appeared blue and black, and white and gold to different viewers.

Stars including Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Taylor Swift took to social media to voice their opinions over the photo.

Roman Originals, who make the viral frock, later revealed the dress was blue and black.

The company recently began selling a white and gold dress in celebration of the viral phenomenon.