Grumpy Cat dead: Instagram feline made famous by memes dies aged 7

The internet sensation known as Grumpy Cat died earlier this week, her owners have revealed.

The world-famous cat died on Tuesday aged seven “at home in the arms of her mommy, Tabatha,” a statement posted on Friday said.

Her family added that the "cherished" feline had encountered complications from a recent infection.

They paid touching tribute to the pet, adding that "her spirit will continue to live on through her fans everywhere".

The post said: “Despite care from top professionals, as well as from her very loving family, Grumpy encountered complications from a recent urinary tract infection that unfortunately became too tough for her to overcome.

Beloved: Grumpy Cat
AP

“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. Her spirit will continue to live on through her fans everywhere.”

Grumpy Cat, who has more than 2m followers on Instagram, rose to fame after a photograph of her was posted to Reddit in September 2012.

Grumpy cat appears on BBC Weather

She has since inspired thousands of memes, made TV appearances and starred in commercials as the face of Honey Nut Cheerios, and Friskies cat food in the US.

Grumpy Cat even starred her own film, Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever aired on Lifetime Channel in 2014.

Bryan Bundesen, the brother of her owner Tabatha Bundesen from Morristown, Arizona, posted the picture of Tartar Sauce pointing out her permanently disgruntled expression.

Grumpy Cat visits London

1/9

Social media users have reshared photos of her unimpressed face ever since.

Fans flooded Twitter with tributes to the viral feline on Thursday as they shared their condolences with the family.

One person wrote: “I am heartbroken. Thank you so much Grumpy for making me smile all these years.

Another wrote: “This is devastating to me and many millions around the world.

“Thank you for being so pawsome. Furever in our heart.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT