A famous internet cat named Lil Bub has passed away, according to the cat’s “dude.” The cat was 8 years old.
The famous internet cat, who had birth defects that skyrocketed her into internet fame, died on Sunday night.
“It’s me, Mike — BUB’s dude,” owner Mike Bridavsky tweeted. “BUB has departed, she’s on her way home.”
Bridavsky released a prepared statement in which he called his cat “the purest, kindest and most magical living force on our planet.”
”BUB was cheerful and full of love laying in our bed with us Saturday night, but unexpectedly passed away peacefully in her sleep,” he wrote in the statement.
“I have always been fully transparent about BUB’s health, and it was no secret that she was battling a persistent and aggressive bone infection. Even knowing this, we weren’t expecting her to pass so soon or so abruptly without warning. I truly believe that she willingly made the decision to leave her failing body so that our family would not have to make that difficult decision ourselves.”
Per NBC News, Lil Bub was born with dwarfism and other mutations that kept her from growing past the size of a kitten.
Social media reacted in mourning to the news: