Grumpy Cat, known by her owners as Tardar Sauce, has stormed the media with her ill-tempered face since a photo of her was posted on Reddit in 2012. Her face went viral — and rightfully so — due to her small body, large eyes, and fascinatingly cute frowning face. As a result, Grumpy Cat has transformed from an unnoteworthy scowling kitten, to a remarkably famous (but still scowling), grown cat over the last three years.
A full-blown celebrity, Grumpy Cat has been on the front page of The Wall Street Journal, the cover of New York Magazine, and has over 8 million likes on her official Facebook page. Grumpy Cat is rising in demand — alluded to in literature and film, and talked about on MSNBC, Swarm, and BuzzFeed, among other news sources.
Her face has become so famous that she’s a meme on nearly every social media site. I once received a snow globe as a birthday present with Grumpy Cat’s face inside. The caption on the snow globe read, “I was in a snow globe once. It was awful.” I laughed for hours after receiving this present; the public, myself included, has become obsessed with her.
She’s also just released her third book, “No-It-All,” and has been traveling throughout the country to book signings and interviews. On Oct. 15, Grumpy Cat made her way to Seattle, drawing an unbelievable crowd at the University Book Store in the U-District.
Hundreds of people, children and adults alike, waited to see Grumpy Cat. The cat-celebrity brought a line ranging from the ground level of the bookstore up to the top, where she was being photographed and interviewed.
With a little help from her owner, Tabatha Bundensen, Grumpy Cat was able to provide me with some irritable answers to a few ridiculous questions I laid out on the table.
Q: Grumpy Cat, what are your emotions associated with the release of your new book?
A: Meh.
Q: How has the fame produced by your three books changed your life thus far? Has it made you more grumpy, less grumpy, or has there been no change?
A: This life only gets grumpier.
Q: Does this grumpiness you speak of run in your family at all? And if so, does it lie on your maternal or paternal side? Do you have any grumpy siblings?
A: Maybe it’s genetic. I wish [my brother] Pokey was grumpier.
Q: Do you have a special makeup artist, workout regimen, or diet that keeps you at prime levels of grumpiness?
A: My human brushes me and I have to get lots of catnaps.
Q: Do you have a favorite food or ideal meal that optimizes your grumpiness?
A: Friskies with gravy. I like the gravy.
Reach writer Rebecca Gross at arts@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @becsgross
