20 Fun Facts You Didn't Know about Grumpy Cat

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Grumpy Cat was one of the first pet stars of Instagram. She actually became noticed when her owners brother posted a picture of her on Reddit but it is on Instagram that she really attracts followers, having more than 2 million at the last count. The internet may know her as Grumpy Cat but her real name is Tardar Sauce as she was the color of this sauce when she was born. The chances are that you have seen at least one meme online that features Grumpy Cat but there are a number of other facts about her that you may not know.

Her Grumpy Face Is Caused By A Medical Condition

She has feline dwarfism and an underbite which is what gives her the grumpy expression. The underbite does not cause her any discomfort and therefore there is no real reason to have it corrected. There are many other cats all over the world that suffer from this condition. However, the underbite is a lot more pronounced on Grumpy Cat than is usual and this is what makes her so unique. It also means that she has a permanently bad tempered expression as the shape of her mouth resembles a frown. She has regular check ups with the vet to monitor her health conditions and the work would stop immediately if there was any issue with her health.

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Ben Lashes Is Her Manager

She is managed by Ben Lashes who also has a number of other famous cats on his books. These include Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat. Grumpy Cat is certainly his biggest client and she is one of the only animal clients who is still currently working today. A lot of his other work is just managing the rights for content that is produced using images of other cats that he manages. He also has a number of human clients on his books that are hoping to emulate the success of Grumpy Cat. Most of his clients are stars of social media and he believes that going viral online is now a credible route to fame.

Her Owner Quit Her Job To Manage Her Schedule

Her owner, Tabatha Bundesen, used to work as a waitress at Red Lobster before quitting her job. The sauce used at the restaurant was the inspiration for the name Tardar Sauce. She accompanies Grumpy Cat wherever she travels and this has become a full time job. She also made the decision to homeschool her daughter in order to better fit her new schedule. A large part of her daily life now is based around the work that Grumpy Cat is doing. She considers herself to be lucky that the money that Grumpy Cat brings in is enough to support her and her daughter.

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Her Owners Brother Still Manages Her Social Media Accounts

Tabatha’s brother Bryan was the person who first posted the picture of her cat online and he still manages all of Grumpy Cats social media accounts today. She is active on Facebook and Twitter as well as featuring in a number of YouTube videos. She still appears on Instagram with new photos being posted all the time. Too ensure that not too much pressure is put on Grumpy Cat a lot of photos are taken in one brief sitting but then posted over a longer period of time. She also has her own website where photos of her and published and there is also official merchandise that is available from this site.

Grumpy Cat Is Now A Trademark

A trademark for her name and image was applied for in January 2013. At this point she was not even one year old but there was a great deal of demand for the use of her image. A new company was also started called Grumpy Cat Limited. All requests to use the image of Grumpy Cat in any form must be made to this company. Using her name or image without express permission is likely to result in a law suit.

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Fans Queue For Hours For Photos

Fans have been known to queue for hours for the chance to have their photo taken with the cat. At SXSW Interactive in March 2013 over 600 fans lined up to have their photo taken and at one point the line was three blocks long. One reason demand for photos is so high is because photo shoot opportunities do not become available all that often. Even at an event like this there will only be a set period of time that is allocated for photos to ensure the welfare of Grumpy Cat. The photos will always be taken in a room that has air conditioning to ensure that she remains comfortable.

There Is A Comic Book About Grumpy Cat And Her Brother

The comic is published by Dynamite Entertainment and is titled The Misadventures of Grumpy Cat and Pokey. The comic book portrays a number of different fictional situations that the cats find themselves in. It gives fans the chance to see her in the type of situations that would not be possible in a film or YouTube video. Her brother Pokey also gets a starring role in the comic and it recognizes the relationship and bond that the two cats have. She has also featured in a number of books that have her photographs in and coloring and sticker books are available for younger fans.

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You Can Buy Grumpy Cat Soft Toys

There is also a range of official soft toys that are available to purchase. These are very popular gifts for young children as they are very cuddly. Gund Ganz have the license to produce official Grumpy Cat plush toys. However, there is also a lot of unofficial merchandise that is available on the market which includes things like keyrings and stationery. Official merchandise is available from the Grumpy Cat website and this is the best place to buy from if you want to make sure that you are getting an official product. A lot of the merchandise comes with grumpy phrases.

She Is The Star Of Her Own Film

Grumpy Cats Worst Christmas Ever is a feature length film that was first shown in 2014. It was filmed during the summer of this year and Aubrey Plaza provides the voice for Grumpy Cat in the film. The film also featured Megan Carpenter as a 12-year-old girl who is able to communicate with Grumpy Cat. Tim Hill and Jeff Morris wrote the film which was the first time Grumpy Cat had featured in a film where she was the main star. Several of the action shots in the film were filmed with footage of her added later so that she was not subjected to any stressful situations.

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She Was Named The Worlds Most Influential Cat

In 2012 she was given this title by MSNBC. This is even more impressive given the fact that she was only a few months old at the time. There have been other cats that have featured quite heavily in internet memes but no one seems to have captured peoples imagination the way that Grumpy Cat has. If you asked people to name some famous cats then there is a good chance that she would be included in this list. She was also awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Friskies in 2013.

She Is Sponsored By Friskies

One of the most successful commercial partnerships that Grumpy Cat has is with the cat food brand Friskies. The sponsorship money that they provide allows Grumpy Cat to travel all over America and some of this work involves promoting their cat food. The family have repeatedly said that Friskies is their favourite brand to work with. There is a lot more to come from Friskies and Grumpy Cat with many more projects in the pipeline. One of the perks of being sponsored by Friskies is that she has a lifetime supply of her favorite cat food. They also make sure that wherever she is traveling she does so in style and always has everything that she needs.

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She Has Many Famous Fans

Even the rich and famous are not immune to the charms of Grumpy Cat. Dennis Crowley was one of the people that queued for hours for a photo at SXSW Interactive. Ian Somerhalder has also posted pictures of himself and Grumpy Cat online declaring how much of a fan he is. In one of his posts he even referred to her as ‘my new love’. Hosts of the many TV shows that she had appeared on have also asked for a photo opportunity and many of them have been a little bit starstruck.

She Was From A Litter Of Four Kittens

She was born at the home of Tabatha Bundesen along with three other brothers and sisters. Her mother was a Calico cat but it is not known who her father was. Feline dwarfism can be hereditary and so it is possible that her father had this condition. Of this litter, Bundesen kept two cats – Grumpy Cat and her brother Pokey. Pokey is still as much a member of the family as Grumpy but he has more of a feisty nature than his sister and he is not keen on travelling.

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She Is Not Actually That Grumpy

Despite her appearance she is not really a grumpy cat. She is a fairly laid back cat and seems to enjoy all the attention that she gets. When she first wakes up from a deep sleep she is very frisky and just wants to play. Unfortunately for her owners this tends to be in the middle of the night. Her favorite thing to do is play with the curtains and one of her favorite toys is a ball of string. Her brother Pokey tends to have more of a grumpy disposition according to their owners. This is one reason why Pokey does not get out to meet people in the same way as Grumpy Cat does. Grumpy Cat is also a lot more laid back and calmer about meeting new people.

She Is The Star Of A YouTube Game Show

Friskies have produced a game show that is shown on YouTube called Will Kitty Play With It? The show basically involves introducing Grumpy Cat to a wide range of objects and predicting whether she will play with it or not. Only three videos in the series were produced but they have over one million views. This was the first venture that Grumpy Cat starred in for Friskies. Since then the two companies have gone on to form a very successful relationship. There may be more videos that are created in the future but this is not a priority at this point.

She Has Her Own Line Of Soft Drinks

There is a line of Grumppuccino iced coffee drinks that are produced by Grenade Beverage LLC. A lawsuit was brought against this company when they extended the range of Grumpy Cat drinks that they produced without permission from Grumpy Cat Ltd. A judge ruled in the favor of Grumpy Cat Ltd when the case went to court in California in January 2018. It is as yet unclear whether the two companies will continue to work together or whether Grumpy Cat Ltd will be looking for someone else to produce Grumpy Cat drinks.

She Has Had A Photoshoot With Time

There are many celebrities that would love to have a photoshoot with Time Magazine but this is something that Grumpy Cat has achieved. This may not be something that most cats would be able to cope with but Grumpy Cat is used to having her photo taken. She was also a lot less demanding than some of the other celebrities that Time Magazine have featured. The only things that she needs are a few bottles of water and somewhere cool for her to sit. Her back legs are not that strong and she finds it difficult to stand for long periods of time. Nearly all the photos that are taken of her will be when she is sitting or lying down.

She Seems To Love Traveling

The Bundesen family have faced some criticism over the travel schedule that Grumpy Cat keeps. However, travelling is something that she actually seems to enjoy and something that she is not at all bothered by. As soon as Tabatha brings her carrier out she knows what is coming and will go straight into it without any fuss. She is also very good with meeting new people, although the family do restrict the amount of strangers that she meets during any given period. There are a lot of people that will wait for hours when they know she is visiting a certain town or city but most of them are understanding if they do not get the chance to meet her because she is too tired.

She Is More Active At Night

Grumpy Cat tends to be more active at night and can sometimes be quite sleepy during the day. When she has made public appearances during the day there have been times when she has seemed very tired and this is probably because she has been up all night. This is not surprising seeing as many cats tend to be quite nocturnal. The only time she does get really grumpy is when she wants to sleep and can’t. This does mean that she copes with jet lag a little better as her natural instinct is to sleep during the day.

She Has Completely Changed Her Owners Lives

When Grumpy Cat was born Tabatha Bundeson was a single parent who was working several shifts a week at Red Lobster to try and make ends meet. She did not get to spend a great deal of time with her daughter Crystal and she hardly ever saw her brother. Now Tabatha and her daughter get to spend every day together as Crystal is home schooled and they get to travel around America to places that they may not otherwise have seen. They have even started to make international trips with Grumpy Cat. There are so many experiences that that have had that they would not have done without Grumpy Cat. She also has a much closer relationship with her brother Bryan and sees him far more often than she did before.

One thing that the Bundesens hope will come out of Grumpy Cat’s fame is that is will increase understanding of feline dwarfism. There are many cats that are in shelters all over the country because they have been abandoned. In the past cats with this disability and other may have been overlooked but Grumpy Cat and other similar Instagram stars have shown that cats with disabilities can still lead full lives and that they make great pets. The Bundesens regularly make donations to animal shelters that care for cats that may have been abandoned. They are also actively involved in fundraising for these shelters and they also encourage anyone that is looking for a new cat to adopt from a shelter.

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