While walking around with a sorrowful look may not work for everyone, it sure has for Tardar Sauce AKA Grumpy Cat. For how else can you explain the fact that in 2012, she was named both Most Influential Cat by MSNBC and Most Important Meme, by social media news site Mashable. It is therefore not surprising that this popular feline's second birthday, which fell on Friday, April 4th 2014, is being celebrated with such fanfare.
The celebrations kicked off on the big day, with a visit to the swanky New York City headquarters of Vogue magazine. While there, Grumpy Cat was treated like the celebrity model she is, with top photographers capturing her every move as she "pawed" through previous editions of the magazine. Though she was fêted by every cat lover in the office including the magazine's creative director, Grace Coddington, it was not enough to even crack a smile on the surly cat who later tweeted - 'I went to @VogueMagazine once. It was awful.'
And the fun didn't stop there. On April 14th, Grumpy Cat made her way to the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, California, to witness the live presentation of the MTV Movie Awards. She began the evening with a cameo appearance in Conan O'Brien's opening skit that featured 50 celebrities. While most seemed flattered to be included in the exclusive list, Grumpy Cat looked rather annoyed at being woken up from her nap. And, despite being assigned plum seating right next to the stage, the cat spent the entire evening, catching up on sleep. Though she was not nominated, her fans believe that she deserved the 'best dressed' award, for the beige Pharrell hat that was stylishly draped over one ear.
The celebrations are not over yet. On April 29th, Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, that has hired Grumpy Cat as a spokesperson for its Friskies cat food brand, is throwing her a 'Terrible Twos' birthday party, in New York City. Among the guests will be the lucky winner of a recently-held contest that asked fans to post the grumpiest photo of their felines. In case you missed it, don't fret. That's because though the grand prize has been awarded, you can still post a photo and be eligible to win fun prizes, until April 29th.
Born with a disorder called feline dwarfism that makes her look as though she is permanently scowling, Tarder Sauce or Tard as she is affectionately called, lived a normal life in Morristown, Arizona, until September, 2012. That's when her owners Bryan and Tabatha Bundesen, posted of a picture of their unusual looking pet on user-generated news site Reddit. It captured the fancy of so many people, that Tardar Sauce became an overnight celebrity. Nicknamed Grumpy Cat, she now has her own brand of T-shirts, coffee mugs and stuffed animals that are sold at retail stores like Walmart, Urban Outfitters and Hot Topic. And if that is not enough, she is about to make her debut on the big screen, alongside superstars like Seth Rogen and Jack Black.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Grumpy Cat!
Sources: E! News, Metro, Mashable;