Lil Bub and Grumpy Cat both died of bacterial infections at a young age

Both Lil Bub and Grumpy Cat both died of bacterial infections at the age of 8 and 7 respectively. Both were dwarf cats. Lil Bub's infection was in her bones while Grumpy Cat's infection was in her bladder i.e. it was a urinary tract infection.

Lil Bub and Mike Bridavsky, her human guardian during most of her shortened life. Photo in public domain.

There were both chronic infections that could not be cured in the usual way with antibiotics. I don't want to say anything untoward or nasty because both these cats entertained millions of people. They made a lot of people happy and they made them smile. They therefore performed a service to humanity but they died very young with lifespans at least half of normal.

It is very unusual for a cat to die a bacterial infection at the age of 8, as happened for Lil Bub. It is impossible not to be drawn to the conclusion that the inherited genetic mutations which made them both money spinning celebrities through their unusual appearance, also killed them. 

I would speculate quite confidently that if they had not suffered from dwarfism in the case of Grumpy Cat and Dwarfism in conjunction with osteopetrosis in the case of Lil Bub, they would not have died for these reasons. 

Osteopetrosis is a bone disease which causes dense bone which fills the centre of the bone where there should be bone marrow. There are other effects too cats with this inherited condition which cause cats to be prone to chronic bacterial bone infections.

Grumpy Cat and Rafi Fine at the 2014 VidCon at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Photo: Gage Skidmore on Wikipedia.

Dwarfism in felines can have associated conditions which I discuss on another page. If people are interested in why these celebrity cats died at such a young age we have to speculate because their owners have been reticent in disclosing in any detail regarding the cause of death. 

In respect of Lil Bub, it seems clear to me that the inherited medical conditions due to genetic mutations ultimately caused her premature death. In respect of Grumpy Cat, the same conclusion, I feel, needs to be drawn. It is likely that she became resistant to antibiotic treatment for a chronic bladder infection and so the infection killed her.

If I'm anywhere near right on this then it does call into question whether people should put on a pedestal and monetise domestic cats who are sadly born with inherited genetic conditions which make them look cute but also which makes them vulnerable disease and a shortened lifespan.

I discuss in a bit more detail the cause of death for both these cats which you can access by clicking here for Lil Bub and here for Grumpy Cat.