Remembering Lil Bub: Out of This World Celebrity Cat Muse

Remembering Lil Bub: Out of This World Celebrity Cat Muse by Layla Morgan Wilde.

The world is duller but the universe brighter with the arrival of its latest star angel, Lil Bub. One of the world’s most beloved felines died peacefully at home in Bloomington, Illinois on December 1, 2019 at age 8. I was lucky to have met her a couple times and spend private time with her. I’ll never forget her quirky, out of this world charm. My heart goes out to her soul mate cat dad, Mike Bridavsky, cat mom, Stacey, human and fur siblings.

Mike shared details of the sad news via his newsletter

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Lil BUB (@iamlilbub) on Dec 2, 2019 at 9:25am PST

I first heard about Lil Bub (short for Lillian Bubbles) like many of us when she exploded onto the Internet 8 years ago. Those green marble eyes, cute tongue in a perma-kitten sized body mesmerized all who met her. We couldn’t get enough and her fame grew leaps and bounds to embrace millions of happy fans worldwide. People lined up at events for the privilege of being in the same room as her. She had charisma that made everyone who met her smile and feel better, hopeful and inspired.

Her death leaves a huge hole in a cat world in light so many celebrity cats dying in the past year including Oskar the Blind Cat, Grumpy Cat, Sir Thomas Trueheart, and number of cats featured in my Black Cats Tell All book.

We’ve done numerous Lil Bub reviews and interviews over the years including The Huffington Post. These are a few plus a exclusive pics not seen before.

• My cat Merlin, one of the first felines to review cat books Cat Reviews Amazing Lil BUB Book
• My first interview with Lil Bub and Mike
• #CatVidFest 2014 with Lil BUB + More!
• What Happened At Cat Camp NYC In Photos

The last time I saw Bub in person was two years ago. She seemed to have aged so much for a 6 year-old cat.

A photo of me and Bub that I’ve never posted before.

I first met Lil Bub in New York in 2013. She looked even tinier in person and in those days Mike wouldn’t let anyone pick her up and hold her. I got to touch her and do some Reiki healing. She’d just gotten the Alessi Loop, a device to help her walk better but wasn’t as nimble yet and stayed on the table. It was clear from those early days how devoted Mike was. Bub was a specially-abled cat with numerous health concerns including the inability to urinate normally. It takes certain kind of commitment willing to manually express a cat’s urine every day. Mike made her well being his first concern.

Giving back was important to Mike. In the world of celebrity cats, it’s easy to exploit and sell out. He was very careful what corporate sponsorships he’d consider. Before partnering with the ASPCA, he’d ask my suggestions for suitable charities to donate to. In 8 years, Lil Bub was able to help thousands of cats and people and donate hundreds of thousands of dollars. I think that will be her greatest legacy which will no doubt continue. I was the one who suggested Lil Bub, blurb other cat books. It was unheard of at the time but she was published author, and has gone on the add her paw of approval to other books.

Given that Lil Bub wore many hats from pet adoption advocacy, happiness ambassador, author, calendar model, TV and film, video game star, I’d like to think she’d want to create some magic from the great beyond.

She once met Grumpy Cat in person and who knows, maybe will rendez-vous again?

One of my favorite Lil Bub videos is a perennial holiday season must-see especially this year. It’s how I’d like to remember her, relaxing and happily purring by a roaring fire. Rest easy dear girl, no more achy bones for you.