Lil Bub, officiallyLil BUB (June 21, 2011 – December 1, 2019), was an American celebritycat known for her unique physical appearance. Her photos were first posted toTumblr in November 2011, before taking off after being featured on the social news websiteReddit.[3] "Lil Bub" onFacebook has over three millionlikes.[4] Lil Bub starred inLil Bub & Friendz, adocumentary that premiered at theTribeca Film Festival on April 18, 2013, and won theTribeca Online Festival Best Feature Film.
Lil Bub was therunt of herlitter born to aferal mother.[5] She was born with severalgenetic mutations, had to be bottle-fed, and had difficulty being adopted.[3][6] Lil Bub had an extreme form offeline dwarfism that caused her limbs and lower jaw to be quite small in comparison to the rest of her body. The shortened lower jaw meant that, among other things, she could not retain her tongue within her mouth.[7] She also had extra toes.[8] Her owner, Mike Bridavsky, adopted her when his friends asked him to give her a home. When Bridavsky first picked her up, he said "Hey, Bub!"[3][9]
Lil Bub suffered fromosteopetrosis for which she received medication.[10][11] In late 2012, during the filming ofLil Bub & Friendz, she had a serious health episode and was diagnosed with osteopetrosis by a specialist inIndianapolis.[10][12][13] Lil Bub's short legs and osteopetrosis restricted her movement but she was termed "a fantastic waddler."[3][6][11] Vibrations fromtravel also break down theosteoclasts.[14]
A group of individuals launched a campaign on the websiteExperiment.com to sequence Lil Bub'sgenome.[15] The purpose of this project was to better understand Lil Bub's unique appearance (for example, herextra digits). The campaign reached its funding goal on May 25, 2015.[15] The scientists found Lil Bub had a mutation in geneRANK/TNFRSF11A which has also been found in one mouse and fifteen humans. Their research on Lil Bub is published atbioRxiv.[16][17]
Bridavsky sold a variety of merchandise under the LIL BUB moniker and donated much of the profits toanimal rescue groups.[3] Some of the money also helped Bridavsky pay off six months of back rent on hisrecording studio.[3] Bridavsky has a policy to not "approach anybody for anything" and chose to not sign with talent agent Ben Lashes, whose clients have includedGrumpy Cat.[18]Lil Bub’s Lil Book: The Extraordinary Life of the Most Amazing Cat on the Planet was released September 3, 2013.[3]
In May 2021, Bridavsky released a visual history coffee table book,Lil BUB: The Earth Years, with authorAaron Tanner.[19]
Bridavsky arranged "meet and greets" for both him and Lil Bub atanimal shelters around the US. The shelters received donations and a cut of merchandise sales.[20] Lil Bub met Grumpy Cat at the second annualInternet Cat Video Film Festival. Lil Bub had abook signing for her new book at Strand Books on September 5.[14] A screening ofLil Bub & Friendz atMetro Chicago raised $1,800 for Tree House Humane Society.[21]
Lil Bub appeared onGood Morning America in August 2012.[10] She did aphotoshoot withBullett Magazine in October 2012.[22] In October 2012 Lil Bub and Mike Brivadsky were interviewed by a group of kids onWTIU's local children's program The Friday Zone, airing on Indiana's PBS stations.[23] In the "A Moment with Lil Bub" series created for The Friday Zone, Lil Bub speaks for the first and only time in any media.[24] She was also featured inBloom Magazine in the December 2012/January 2013 edition.[25] Lil Bub posed for aPETA campaign that encouraged people tospay and neuter their pets in 2013.[26]
Lil Bub makes an appearance in the filmNine Lives (2016) as the cat form of the film's main antagonist Ian Cox (Mark Consuelos) after he is hit by a car and his soul goes inside the cat's body.[32] Her final media appearance was in the 2018 movieI'll Be Next Door for Christmas.[33]
An album was released under Lil Bub's name, with Bridavsky as producer, in 2015. The album,Science & Magic, features liner notes byAndrew W.K. and includes recordings of Lil Bub's vocalizations interpolated into instrumental electronic music tracks.[34]
Lil Bub's life story was featured for 30 minutes during the three hour "Animal Special" episode of the Japanese TV showExperience a Miracle – Unbelievable. In this dramatization the role of Mike Bridavsky was played by New Zealand actor Gregory Snelgar.[35][36]
On Lil Bub's second birthday, June 21, 2013, it was announced that she would star inLil BUB's Big SHOWweb series withRevision3.[1][44] Bridavsky selected Rev3 for its connections toDiscovery Communications andAnimal Planet.[18] Bridavsky had full writing andcreative control.[18] The talk show format was made possible by having a subtitled Lil Bub edited with footage of her guests recorded separately.[18] Her first guest wasWhoopi Goldberg who met her onThe View in April 2013.[45] The episode ended with Lil Bub introducing the audience toTabby's Place, acat sanctuary for disadvantaged felines. The episode aired September 3, 2013.[46]
Lil Bub died in her sleep on December 1, 2019. According to Bridavsky, Lil Bub had been fighting an aggressivebone infection at the time of her death.[47]
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