Grumpy Cat

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"Tardar Sauce" redirects here. For the sauce, see Tartar sauce.

Grumpy Cat at the 2014 VidCon.

Other appellation(s)Grumpy Cat, TardSpeciesFelis catusBreedMixed[1]SexFemaleBornTardar Sauce
April 4, 2012 (age 2)[1]
Morristown, ArizonaKnown forGrumpy facial expressionOwnerTabatha Bundesen

Tardar Sauce (born April 4, 2012), better known by her Internet moniker "Grumpy Cat", is a cat and Internet celebrity known for her grumpy facial expression.[1][2][3][4]

Her owner Tabatha Bundesen says that her permanently grumpy-looking face is due to feline dwarfism.[5][1][6] Grumpy Cat's popularity originated from a picture posted to the social news website Reddit by Bundesen's brother Bryan on September 22, 2012.[1][7][8] It was made into an image macro with grumpy captions. As of July 14, 2014, "The Official Grumpy Cat" on Facebook has over 6 million "likes".[9] Grumpy Cat was featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal on May 30, 2013 and on the cover of New York magazine on October 7, 2013.[10][4][11]

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Background
• 2 Management
• 3 Recognition
• 4 Book and calendar
• 5 Media appearances
  • 5.1 Friskies
  • 5.2 2013 SXSW Interactive
• 6 Film
• 7 References
• 8 External links

Background[edit]

The Bundesens say that Tardar Sauce's face appears grumpy because of feline dwarfism and an under bite.[1][6][12] She and her brother Pokey were born to normal parents with "a flat face, bubble eyes, and a short tail".[12] Tardar Sauce is undersized and has hind legs that "are a bit different".[1][6] Ironically, although she has a grumpy expression on her face and called "Grumpy Cat", Tardar Sauce is calm and "actually really nice," whereas Pokey has a grumpy personality.[13][14]

"I ran once...it was horrible". A sign paying homage to Grumpy Cat at the Austin Marathon.

According to the Bundesens, Tardar Sauce is a normal cat "99% of the time".[1][6][15] Photo sessions are only once a week, and handling by strangers is limited.[1]At SXSW Tardar Sauce made limited two-hour appearances each day as Grumpy Cat.[14]

Management[edit]

Ben Lashes is Grumpy Cat's manager who also represents Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat.[13][16] Bundesen took a leave of absence from her day job at Red Lobster to manage Grumpy Cat's schedule and Bryan manages her website, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.[4][10][15][7]

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database, "Grumpy Cat Limited" applied to trademark "Grumpy Cat" and an image of her at the end of January 2013.[17] Licensed merchandise like t-shirts and mugs are advertised on the website and sold at Hot Topic.[1][13] Plush toys are under development.[13] Bryan said that by March 2013 they earned "mid-five figures"[7] and "low-six-figure" by May 2013.[10] The corporation has an estimated value of $1 million.[4] Grenade Beverage LLCmakes Grumpy Cat "Grumppuccino" iced coffee beverages.[10][18][19]

Recognition[edit]

MSNBC named Grumpy Cat 2012's most influential cat.[20] Grumpy Cat won BuzzFeed's Meme of the Year Award at the 2013 Webby Awards.[21][22] Grumpy Cat won first prize Golden Kitty at the second annual Internet Cat Video Film Festival.[23][24] Grumpy Cat won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Friskies.[25]

Book and calendar[edit]

The official Grumpy Cat book was published on July 23, 2013 by Chronicle Books.[10] The book is available in both print and digital formats from retailers worldwide. It debuted at #8 Hardcover Nonfiction onPublishers Weekly's best seller list and #7 on the New York Times Best Seller List.[26][27]

Additionally, Chronicle Books published The Grumpy Cat 2014 Wall Calendar on July 23, 2013.[28]

More recently, there was another Grumpy Cat book called The Grumpy Guide to Life.