Lil Bub’s photo gallery follows the text
UPDATE: Lil Bub, the original celebrity cat who captured the hearts of people all over the world, passed away on December 1. Lil Bub’s favorite owner, Mike Bridavsky, shared the news in an Instagram post.
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This is the first photo I took with BUB and then the last photo we took together. On the morning of Sunday, December 1, 2019, we lost the purest, sweetest, and most magical life force on earth. On Saturday night, BUB was lying in bed with us, full of light and love, when he unexpectedly passed away peacefully in his sleep. I have always been completely open about BUB’s health and it was no secret that she was battling a persistent and aggressive bone infection. Even knowing that, we never expected her to pass away so soon, so suddenly, and without warning. I truly believe that she chose to leave her weakened body so that our family would not have to make that difficult decision. Words cannot express the profound impact BUB has had on my life, the lives of thousands of homeless pets, and the lives of all of you who have cared for her as if she were your own family. She taught me everything I know about unconditional love. She is the one who brought me and my wife, Stacey, together. We owe it all to her that we have our beautiful children, Rosco and Lula. And for the past eight years, she has been a constant source of warmth and love in our lives. To say our family is devastated would be an understatement. But most importantly, BUB has made a profound difference in the world of animal welfare and in the lives of millions of people around the world. She has literally saved thousands of lives (both pets and humans), founded the first national foundation for pets with special needs, been the subject of groundbreaking genetic and biological research, helped raise over $700,000 for animals in need, and spread her message of determination, positivity, and perseverance to people all over the world. And while my heart is completely broken by her graceful departure from planet Earth, I know that her spirit, magic, and overwhelming energy are still with us, reminding us every day to be better. Dear Bub, I will never forget your generosity, boundless love, and uncanny ability to bring magic and joy to the world. I am forever honored and humbled that you chose me to be your caretaker. Come meet us all in your dreams.
Everyone at the INKED office was saddened to hear this news, but grateful for all the joy this little kitty with the odd purr has brought us over the years. We were fortunate to have Bridavsky and Babu visit our office in 2013. Below is an interview with them from their visit, as well as some photos of the one and only Little Babu.
Lil Bub was in town so we invited her down to the office and the girls who work at INKED cheered like One Direction fans. Most of you know this cool guy, but did you know her pal Mike Bridavsky is covered in tattoos and just as cool as Bub? Below, enjoy our Inked Girls’ shoot of Bub and our conversation with Bridavsky.
INKED: When did you first start getting tattoos?
Brivavsky: It’s a funny story, I took my prom money. I didn’t know my parents were counting it. And I took it and went to get a tattoo. My parents sat me down and said, “We need to have a talk. We know you’re doing drugs.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m $350 short on my graduation money.”
So I had to show my tattoos. I had tattoos from 18 to 20, then I didn’t get any tattoos until I was 28. I had my armbands in a classic ’90s style. Most of my tattoos are Hobbit and Lord of the Rings tattoos. This was around ’98, before that was popular.
Does it increase or decrease your credibility?
I’m going to say more because I want more credit, and I need all the credit I can get right now.
What prompted you to start covering your arms at the ripe old age of 28?
That was before I met Colin McClain, who does most of my arm tattoos. He’s a great guy. I’d never been so happy with my tattoos.
Were you not happy with your ink before?
I was like, “This guy is so cool.” Then we became friends and then we were in the recording studio and he offered to do this album with my rap group and I’ll trade you studio time for tattoos. So I got this whole arm for free. It was a nice trade. I definitely got the better of it. The first one I got was this tree, which was on the back of the Hobbit graphic novel. I just got a tree, and I hated it. I had nightmares about my mom finding out and chopping my arm off. My arm was totally bare, and it was just a tree growing out of my wrist. It was pretty cool, actually, but it was old. I’ve been doing it ever since. I was like, I might as well keep doing it, since I’ve already done it. I think that went on for like two whole years. And the next thing I knew, I was like, oh shit.
Does your work seem to reflect McClain’s traditional American style?
This is not typical of Colin’s style because I had him draw it for me. I wanted it to be pastel and a little bit washed out. Here’s another funny story, but I wanted to get a bear tattoo. This symbol is called the Fuck Fright symbol. It’s for a band that I was asked to join. If you play in a band you have to get a tattoo, so I thought, “I’ll get a Fuck Fright tattoo.” My name Meesha in Russian means bear, so I wanted it to be a bear. I told Colin about it and he said, “Okay, I’ll think about it.”
I had another dream, not knowing what he was going to draw, but this time I dreamed about a bear in armor. I got excited and thought a bear in armor would be awesome and I could put a symbol on the armor. In the morning I went up to him and said, “Colin, I have a great idea.” And he said, “Okay, but first you have to see what I’ve drawn.” And it was already this bear in armor!
That’s great. You should take more naps.
If I’d stayed asleep I’d have woken up covered in amazing tattoos.
You have a Lil Bub tattoo on your arm.
Some people might not notice, but those who do will be like, “Wow, that’s amazing!”
Did she get a Bub tattoo before she became a star?
That’s the one on my arm. This big crazy little thing was before she was a star. I’ve drawn all my other cats too: Cooper, Oscar, Vivian, Josie. I’ve also got the studio logo on my arm, my mom’s organ, and my dad’s pipes. It’s like a family tree. I drew my other cats, and then I got Bub. Bub is famous, and everyone knows how amazing she is. But when I first got her, she wasn’t famous yet, and I thought this is the most amazing animal that ever existed.
And then there’s Lil Bub’s mistress.
The first drawing Colin did for me was really cool, but he forgot I was Jewish. It was of St. Bab. St. Bab had a halo and his hands were on the Bible, and he was really cool. St. Bab looked so calm, and he was really cool, but I was like, “Um, no way.” And he asked, “What do you want?” and I said, “A Bab with Gandolf’s sword and a lantern and an ant in armor as his companion.” I didn’t realize this until now, but I have two animals in armor. I’m going to get more. I’m going to make a giraffe in armor.
How did you get your bub?
My friend’s boyfriend’s mother found the kittens among a colony of kittens and picked them up when they were about 1-2 weeks old.
Like an ant-sized bub.
Yeah, she took care of Bub and bottle-fed him. If she hadn’t done that, Bub wouldn’t have survived. We never actually found her owner because she was creepy looking. She was half creepy and half cute as a baby. When I first brought her home, it was awesome because she was so weird, but I just imagined her smelling like a fart. She was like a fart incarnate. (Then talking to Bub) But now she’s just a beautiful woman.
When did you start making videos?
Her first video was called “Good Job Bub” and everyone was like, “That cat is famous.” I was like, really? So, just as a joke, my friend thought, “Wouldn’t it be funny if my super weird cat became famous?” So she posted pictures online and took a really cute video and put it on YouTube. Everyone seems to think she got famous on YouTube, but that’s not true. I think it was after she got famous from the pictures that her YouTube videos started getting more views, and then Yahoo! put them on their YouTube channel.
Did a Yahoo news reporter find her?
What happened was, one of her photos was posted on Tumblr, and then one of her photos from Tumblr ended up on the front page of Reddit. Then a friend of mine made a t-shirt of her as a hobby. That’s when it really started to gain momentum. We did that, and people all over the country started pre-ordering t-shirts.
Then I realized that BuzzFeed ordered shirts, and Vice magazine ordered shirts. They were fans who actually worked there! Then the BuzzFeed article went viral, and the next day Good Morning America was on it, and everyone was calling nonstop. Good Morning America posted a video, Yahoo posted a video, I think Huffington Post posted an article. What people don’t realize is that this was four months before Grumpy Cat. Now when I read all the coverage, it’s funny how Bubs was getting more and more famous and becoming this huge, crazy thing.
What was it like when she met Grumpy Cat?
It was ok, she doesn’t like other cats.
So what about the four of you in your house?
Well, the other four cats live in my studio.
Do any of these cats deserve to be famous?
Yeah, they just don’t try. Oscar ran away and has been missing for 4 months now and I don’t think he’ll ever come back. He’s a Van Coon and very friendly so someone picked him up. I think he’s definitely jealous. Last time he ran away I brought him back and within 36 hours he was in a rap video and found 4 miles away.
What rap videos was he in?
I don’t know. He disappeared and the next day my friend Josh was like, “Hey, Oscar’s in a rap video my friend made.” Apparently he’s super friendly and he’s interested in a lot of stuff. Some kids were doing a rap video around town and he walked in.
Wouldn’t it be cool if rappers had cats instead of pit bulls or Dobermans?
Kittens. Kittens in hard rap videos.
Does your bub like attention?
She likes attention from some people, not everyone. Some people get along with her, very few people she dislikes. You can see her saying “don’t touch me.” People are often aimed right at her face, not understanding that it’s unpleasant for someone to come up and poke her in the face.
Is there someone who always urges you to let them touch you or hold you?
I just tell people not to hold her. I just got out of the car and this guy was like, “Is that Grumpy Cat?” I was like, “No, it’s Lil Bub.” And he was like, “What’s the difference?” And I was like, “They’re two different cats.” And he was like, “What do you need?” And I was like, “It’s a cat.”
What if we created an East Coast vs West Coast feud with Grumpy Cat?
Well, that’s the way she is. She doesn’t start fights with anybody. She cooks all the beef herself. And she eats the beef.
