In case you haven’t noticed, cats have pretty much taken over the Internet, especially YouTube where videos of cats attract fans by the millions.
One of the web’s most famous cats will be in the Tallahassee area next month to raise money for a group that cares for feral felines. The cat in question is named “Lil’ Bub”. She belongs to a formerly starving musician named Mike Bridavsky. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana, 50 miles southwest of Indianapolis.
“She was the runt of a feral litter that was discovered in a tool shed in rural Indiana just outside Bloomington,” explained Mary Nall. She’s on the board of directors of the Tallahassee chapter of “It’s Meow or Never for Ferals”. That group catches roving, homeless cats, spays or neuters them and releases them back to the wild. “And the guy who found her was a friend of Mike’s and he already had four rescue cats. And the guy just thought, ‘Mike’s got to see this little kitten.’”
She said Mike Bridavsky didn’t initially know the gender of the tiny kitten his friend has put in his hands.
“And he just kind of held her up and looked at her and said, ‘Hey, how you doin’, little bub?’”
The name stuck and Mike started posting online videos of his furry friend; a friend who it seems had a lot of issues.
“Those issues include feline dwarfism,” Nall said. “She’s four right now going on five; she’ll be five in June. She weighs about four pounds and that’s as big as she’s ever going to get. She suffers from a condition called ‘osteopetrosis’, which is a bone disease that no other known cat on the planet has.”
But Lil’ Bub’s most distinctive and endearing issue is the fact her little pink tongue hangs our perpetually because she’s has no teeth and her lower jaw is malformed. Bub has literally millions of online fans. Her owner Mike often sets up personal appearances in support of animal-related causes and groups. So Nall and the local It’s Meow or Never for Ferals managed to arrange an appearance in Havana on May 14th during that town’s Springtime Festival.
“In this case because we’re such a small charity and we’re struggling so much and Mike really wanted to come to Florida, he has agreed to give us 100% of the proceeds from the ticket sales.” Nall said each ticket holder will get to do much more than simply “ooo” and “aah” from afar.
“People are just thrilled to come see her, to pet her, have their picture taken with her and have a take-away personally-autographed – or should I say ‘pawtographed’ photo of her.”
But Nall said it’s about more than just be able to hang out with one of the most famous felines on the planet.
“It’s all about bringing the word about feral cats, about spay/neuter and just about taking care of your pets.”
Lil’ Bub live and in person to benefit It’s Meow or Never for Ferals at the former H&H location in Havana, Saturday May 14th. Go to: www.lilbub.com/appearances for more info.