May 17, 2019

When does social media star of the nonhuman kind get a mainstream media obituary?

Grumpy Cat.
Though her real name is Tardar Sauce, she earned the notorious moniker in 2012 when a photo of her scowl was posted to Reddit. (Her small size and frown were likely due to feline dwarfism, her family later revealed.)

Endless memes—and success—followed. In addition to nabbing MSNBC's Most Influential Cat Award, she also scored campaigns with Purina and Cheerios. She had guest spots on Today, Good Morning America, American Idol, Sesame Street and even The Bachelorette.... And in 2014, she starred in Lifetime's Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever.
Grumpy Cat was 7.

30 comments:

David Begley said...

An IP goldmine for the owners.

MadisonMan said...

My own cat is 19. Some days spunky, some days not. The long slow decline to death is not a direct straight line. Saw that with Dad too

Fernandinande said...

Bitchy resting face cat goes viral.

whitney said...

She had some kind of feline dwarfism which is why she look like that. It's always sad when a beloved pet dies and she did become everyone's pet in a way

Ray - SoCal said...

Nice Tweet on her passing by her account.

“Some days are grumpier than others...”

Ignorance is Bliss said...

So the tag is actually celebritneys?!?

Ann Althouse said...

"So the tag is actually celebritneys?"

Yes, and has been for a long time.

You know you can click on those tags and read. It's good reading, and you may understand the category.

(CAT-e-gory)

Ann Althouse said...

The category "celebritneys" is not about cats.

It's a subcategory of something I don't have a tag for (celebrities). You can see why I don't have a tag for "celebrities." Why would I? It would be on every other post, for every famous person.

Phil 314 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Phil 314 said...

“Her small size and frown were likely due to feline dwarfism, her family later revealed.”

Uh, don’t you mean “her owner’s family”?

I’m not sure how much cats can reveal (other than their crotch when licking themselves)

Curious George said...

Meh. She was no Keyboard Cat.

chuck said...

My own cat is 19. Some days spunky, some days not.

Same age as mine, her decline really started about two years ago and she teeters on the edge of kidney problems. So it goes...

Browndog said...

Grumpy Cat, owned by Tabatha Bundesen from Morristown, Arizona shot to fame in 2012 in a YouTube video that got 15.7 million views, and earned more than Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz and Matthew McConaughey during her time in the spotlight.

Even amassing a reported $100M fortune was not enough to put a smile on the face of the internet sensation – real name Tardar Sauce - who was born with dwarfism and an underbite, giving her a disgruntled expression.


Cat people.
Ugh.

n.n said...

Emotional conflation of species.

robother said...

The owners blew a good thing needlessly. On the internet, no one knows you're a dead cat.

rehajm said...

She wasn't grumpy it was just her face...

Made me smile. That name, though...

MD Greene said...

MSNBC has a Most Influential Cat Award?

We are not serious people.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

robother said...

On the internet, no one knows you're a dead cat.

Somewhere, Schrödinger is smiling. And not smiling. At the same time.

Seeing Red said...

I’m so old I remember Johnny Carson’s eulogy to Morris the Cat.

Ralph L said...

I still prefer Angry Cat.

J. Farmer said...

Tardar Sauce?

tcrosse said...

This cat stuff is trivia which distracts from discussion of Game of Thrones.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

sAd. 7 is young.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

"I was a star, so I grabbed them back!"

Darrell said...

7 is young.

She must have been seen regularly by vets.

William said...

I'm not inconsolable, but Grumpy did not have his fair share of cat years. I doubt very much if the fame and added attention in any way compensated for his shortened life. Perhaps he has gone to a better place.

Michael K said...

I prefer Pinky.

Achilles said...

J. Farmer said...
Tardar Sauce?

They created a truly unique name.

Mark said...

Saw the episode of The Office last night where Dwight puts Sprinkles in the freezer.

Big Mike said...

The wild Pallas' Cat is always grumpy.