Instagram's celebrity cat Lil Bub died on Saturday at the age of 8, according to a post, written by her owner Mike Bridavsky. "On the morning of Sunday, December 1st 2019 we lost the purest, kindest and most magical living force on our planet. BUB was cheerful and full of love laying in our bed with us Saturday night, but unexpectedly passed away peacefully in her sleep," reads the announcement made late Monday about her death and her condition.
"It is impossible to put into words the profound effect that BUB has had on my life, on the lives of thousands of homeless pets, and on the lives of those of you that have cared for her as if she were your own family. She taught me everything that I know about unconditional love," the post continues, with Bridavsky adding "she has been a constant source of warmth and love in our lives for the past 8 years. To say that our family is devastated would be an understatement."
Lil Bub, who was rescued by Bridavsky in 2011, was born with a rare bone condition called osteopetrosis. The condition was an "extreme case of dwarfism," which meant her limbs were disproportionately small relative to the rest of her body, so she had some trouble moving around. She had no teeth and hopped like a bunny when she ran.
In the post announcing the death, her owner wrote: "I have always been fully transparent about Bub's health," which has included sharing information about Bub's long-time struggle with osteopetrosis and her trouble with a recent bone infection causing her death.
"It was no secret that she was battling a persistent and aggressive bone infection. Even knowing this, we weren't expecting her to pass so soon or so abruptly without warning. I truly believe that she willingly made the decision to leave her failing body so that our family would not have to make that difficult decision ourselves," reads the post. Bub had over 2.3 million Instagram followers and nearly 3 million Facebook subscribers in her 8 years.
