Internet Legend Grumpy Cat, AKA Tardar Sauce, Dead at Age 7

The cat that defined an era and gave internet memeification its cultural icon, Grumpy Cat--real name Tardar Sauce--, is dead at age 7.

Grumpy Cat Dead at Age 7

Some days are grumpier than others... pic.twitter.com/ws209VWl97

— Grumpy Cat (@RealGrumpyCat) May 17, 2019

Grumpy Cat, the cultural icon and millionaire internet cat that hated you and your every accomplishment, passed away today from complications stemming from a urinary tract infection, her family announced today.

Grumpy cat now as we speak pic.twitter.com/hRkoJYZH1G

— Ahmad Safar (@AhmadSafarAway) May 17, 2019

The Internet is in mourning after the news broke that everybody's favorite curmudgeonly feline has died. Grumpy Cat's death feels like a bitter mile marker that reminds us all that the internet used to have a lot more promise and was a lot more fun back just a few years ago. Now, security breaches, fake news, privacy violations, revenge porn, and all the rest have weaponized the Internet and turned it into just another place where you have to watch your purse and distrust everyone you meet because you're afraid of getting robbed of your bitcoin wallet or your dignity.

It wasn't always this way, at least not so blatantly. Grumpy Cat gave innocent Internet snarkiness its avatar, and for several years after Grumpy Cat first harumphed her way into our pop cultural pantheon, we had a common, shared meme to make fun of anyone and anything. Grumpy Cat allowed us to engage in a little casual misanthropy without it turning nasty and hateful. Grumpy Cat embodied the collective spirit of a different kind of Internet, one we knew probably wasn't real, but we still hadn't internalized that fact. Grumpy Cat let us believe for a while that the Internet could be harmless.

Leaving aside her iconic status, Tardar Sauce was a beloved member of her family and just a normal cat like any other. Tardar Sauce had feline dwarfism, which her family suspects was what gave her famous perma-frown. Before we get too lost in Grumpy Cat nostalgia, here's a video of Tardar Sauce when she was off the clock so to speak and got to just be herself.

Grumpy Cat has died and the internet is in mourning ? pic.twitter.com/8h67xisU3f

— Trivia Crack (@TriviaCrack) May 17, 2019

In honor of Tardar Sauce and her Internet alter ego Grumpy Cat, we're scouring the web and social media today, digging up our favorite Grumpy Cat memes which we will update throughout the day.

Rest in Grumpiness.

~RIP~ Tardar Sauce AKA Grumpy Cat ? pic.twitter.com/YQ8VJhavne

— ChicaMinou (@ChickfromCali1) May 17, 2019

my all-time favorite Grumpy Cat meme....... pic.twitter.com/KI728Wqzj9

— harpospeaks (@harpospeaks717) May 17, 2019

in honour of grumpy cat, here are some memes from 2012 pic.twitter.com/41yCZ2iFx5

— blanche (@mushroomdodie) May 17, 2019

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