Washington: The cat whose sad face and big blue eyes launched countless memes and shot the feline to Internet stardom has died, her owners said on Friday. Grumpy Cat, who became an Internet sensation starting in 2012 when her picture first appeared on Reddit, was 7. Her owners announced the news on the cat’s Twitter and Instagram accounts.
In a tweet that begins “Some days are grumpier than others,” the owners said Grumpy Cat, whose real name was Tardar Sauce, died on Tuesday due to complications from a urinary tract infection. “We are unimaginably heart broken to announce the loss of our beloved Grumpy Cat,” the tweet said. Despite care from top professionals and her loving family, she died “peacefully at home in the arms of hermommy, Tabatha.”
The cat’s glum expression was not related to her temperament. She was in fact pleasant and playful, according to Tabatha Bundesen, her owner, as quoted by NBC News. Her permanent frown stemmed from an unusual combination of an underbite and feline dwarfism.
Grumpy Cat made several television appearances, including on American Idol and The Bachelorette and in 2016 appeared on Broadway for one night in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats. She also starred in a movie called Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever.
Some 2.5 million people followed her on Instagram, and 1.5 million on Twitter. Through her Internet fame, Grumpy Cat helped millions of people smile all around the world, even when times were tough, the owners’ statement on Twitter said. “Her spirit will continue to live on through her fans everywhere.”
— dpa
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
