The sourpuss Grumpy Cat, a mixed breed feline with a perpetual frown that shot to social media fame, has died at age 7. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File),
With great sadness and, well, grumpiness, we share the sad news that Grumpy is dead — not the feeling (though in a world that needs more kindness, we wish that were so) and not one of Snow White’s Seven Dwarfs, but the sourpuss cat of social media fame. The 7-year-old cat that never failed to delight died of complications of a urinary tract infection, Grumpy’s family said in a statement Friday.
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Grumpy’s death came “despite care from top professionals, as well as from her very loving family,” humans Tabatha, Bryan and Chrystal wrote in the statement.
“Besides being our baby and a cherished member of the family, Grumpy Cat has helped millions of people smile all around the world — even when times were tough,” the family wrote. “Her spirit will continue to live on through her fans everywhere.”
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Grumpy, or Tardar Sauce as the calico mix was originally named, has a form of dwarfism that causes a perpetual frown. Grumpy’s rise to meteoric social media fame — she had 15.1 million followers on Twitter alone — began after Bryan Bundersen brother snapped a photo of his sister Tabatha’s cat in 2012 and posted it on Reddit.
Related: Grumpy Cat: 5 Things About Cat That Won $710,000 Lawsuit Award
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The social media world swooned. Grumpy won endorsement deals, including one with the cat food manufacturer Friskies, and wrote a handful of books and starred in a TV movie, “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever.”
,In 2016, Grumpy Cat joined the cast of the Broadway musical “Cats” in Los Angeles. A spokesman for the show told The Associated Press the kitty with the comical frown would “be worked into the end of the show … and become an honorary Jellicle Cat.”
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All that fame led to fierce competition for the rights to use Grumpy Cat as a spokes-cat. In 2018, Grumpy Cat Limited won a $710,000 jury award in a copyright infringement lawsuit that stemmed from a dispute with Grumpy Cat Grumppuccino, which had paid Tabatha Bundersen $150,000 in upfront royalties to use the cat’s image on a single product, but began using it on others.
Condolences for Grumpy Cat’s family are pouring in on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Some days are grumpier than others…
pic.twitter.com/ws209VWl97
— Grumpy Cat (@RealGrumpyCat)
May 17, 2019
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