Grumpy Cat, a feline whose perpetual scowl turned countless frowns upside-down, died Tuesday, her family said.
The 7-year-old meme-machine kitty from Arizona, whose real name was Tardar Sauce, encountered fatal complications after a urinary tract infection, a tweet entitled "Some days are grumpier than others" revealed Friday. She died peacefully in owner Tabatha Bundesen's arms.
Some days are grumpier than others... pic.twitter.com/ws209VWl97
— Grumpy Cat (@RealGrumpyCat) May 17, 2019
"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 tribute reads. "Her spirit will continue to live on through her fans everywhere."
Grumpy Cat's sour-puss expression was the result of dwarfism and an underbite. She rose to fame in 2012 after Bundesen's brother Bryan uploaded a photo of her to Reddit, claiming a "best cat on the internet" award the following year and raking in money for her owner. She even inspired a 2014 Christmas movie.
In 2015, Grumpy Cat was less than impressed at being honored at Madame Tussauds in San Francisco, and when President Barack Obama mimicked her as he described the Republican Party's outlook on America.
People took to Twitter, where Grumpy Cat had 1.5 million followers, to mourn her passing and to celebrate some choice memes she inspired.
Grumpy cat now as we speak pic.twitter.com/hRkoJYZH1G
— Ahmad Safar (@AhmadSafarAway) May 17, 2019
Still one of my favorite Grumpy Cat Memes. pic.twitter.com/JYDLtsbqVT
— Cameron Grant (@coolcam101) May 17, 2019
R.I.P Grumpy Cat pic.twitter.com/cNXG0m062V
— Gnowmickly (@Gnowmickly) May 17, 2019
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill also paid tribute to Grumpy Cat, tweeting, "She was a part of all of us."
She was a part of all of us. 😒 #RIPGrumpyCat 😾 pic.twitter.com/o1ZKd3rQgh
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) May 17, 2019
As of Friday, Grumpy Cat's Facebook page had more than 8.5 million likes, 2.4 million people followed her on Instagram and she had over 250,000 YouTube subscribers.
Perhaps now she's reunited with late Marvel Legend Stan Lee, who shared her displeasure in 2015.
I went to @StanLeeComicCon once. It was awful. #LAComicCon16 pic.twitter.com/DP9P3WXiH0
— Grumpy Cat (@RealGrumpyCat) October 29, 2016
Check out our sister sites CBS News, Entertainment Tonight and iDaily for more tributes to Grumpy Cat.
First published at 3:23 a.m. PT.
Updated at 5:00 a.m. PT: Adds more detail.
Updated at 1:34 p.m. PT: Adds tweet from Mark Hamill.
