How much did Grumpy Cat earn throughout her 7-year life?

There was a lot of talk all over the internet and on news media about Grumpy cat earning around $100 million in her life or part of her life (April 4, 2012 – May 14, 2019).

 

You'll see this number repeated all the time but since her premature death on May 14th, 2019 at the age of 7, there has a correction by Tabatha Bundesen, Grumpy Cat's owner. She denies that the $100 million figure is accurate. She does not tell us the true figure. 

Bundesen and Tardar Sauce, the cat she exploited to make millions. Image in the public domain (believed).

It is hard to envisage her earnings being higher than $100 million, therefore they were lower. 

In fact, the language that she used in her denial hints at the more likely true figure. She described the report as "completely false" to the Huffington Post.

'Completely false' indicates that $100m was very wide off the mark and in my view a greatly overestimated number. For example, if Bundesen had said that the $100m was 'slightly false' we'd know that it was fairly close and a little high.

'Completely' indicates that the $100m is probably about 3 times too high on a guess. If I am correct Bundesen made around $30m from all the endorsements and appearances over her life.

Bundesen successfully sued one business for $700,000 for example. That gives us a clue as to the type of numbers involved.

Wikipedia plays very safe and says that she earned between $1m and $100m! Not very precise!

Tardar Sauce (her real name) was very big at the time. He earnings must have been in the many millions. We just don't know how many millions.

Bundesen was a waiter before her cat became the world's biggest ever cat celebrity. I'd expect her to be set up for life financially. She won't have to work again.

The sad part is that Grump Cat owed her considerable fame to her deformed anatomy. Her short legs and diminutive body and importantly her downturned mouth giving the grumpy appearance were all due to dwarfism. This was a distorted anatomy and her health was poor as she died well before her time.

She was exploited really. Harsh to say that but it has to be true. If we did the same thing with a human the person involved would have been successful prosecuted for criminal behavior! It is a funny old world.

Cat on the track during Azerbaijan F1 sprint race 2023

Formula One F1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan - April 29, 2023: Charles Leclerc the leading Ferrari driver was misunderstood over the radio when competing in the sprint race which takes place these days before the main race.

He reported a cat on the racetrack but his team heard the word 'cut' and believed that he was reporting an engine cutout - misfiring, I guess. 

He clarified after the race when interviewed by reporters:

"Absolutely not. I said a cat -- which is different. There was a cat in the middle of the road and the safety car had to stop, but I think I was probably the only one who saw that."

He added:

"In the exit of turn one there was a cat and the safety car braked."

The reason why a cat got onto the track is because the circuit snakes through the old section of Baku. The fences around the circuit are not designed to keep animals out it seems but to protect spectators.

Maybe the organisers need to do something about that. They won't as it was 'only a cat' and it would be too expensive to make alterations.

But if the cat had been struck it might have resulted in a serious crash.

The incident is not shown on the video but here it is in any case:

Adjustable anti-scratch cat shoe is an abomination

Get this picture. What do you think? Your answer depends on whether you want a living toy as a companion animal or a real cat (or as near as we can allow it). The woman/man who owns this Ragdoll cat believes in living toys and shuns the idea of allowing a cat to be a cat. Although there is one upside. They would probably have declawed their cat but for these ghastly bootees.

Read this provocative article about cat ownership: De-sexing our cats changes them from real animals to living toys.

Bootee on all four paws to stop scratching. Image: Reddit.com.

The manufacturers of these bootees are feeding the human fear in some cat owners of cat scratches and furniture being scratched. It is exploitation of a human problem that should not exist. 

Far better for the cat owner to learn to live with cat claws. To learn how to 100% avoid being scratched which is possible by observing cat behavior and understanding how to avoid scratches. 

To change one's attitude about furniture being scratched occasionally as this can be radically reduced by buying a great cat scratching post and putting special double-sided tape on those parts of the furniture which are targeted by cats. 

Training Your Cat to Use a Scratching Post and Where to Put It

There are far better ways to deal with cat claws which are an integral part of the cat. They are so important even when not used as defensive weapons. 

Cat Claw Anatomy Facts For Kids

Anyway, how does a cat feel with this human invention strapped to their paws? They can't feel alright. It must be discombobulating. It must be uncomfortable. 

It is the solemn duty of a cat owner to make their cat as happy as possible. Attaching these monstrosities to their paws achieves the opposite.

TNR woman at odds with Iowa city over feral cats

NEWS AND VIEWS: I love this woman. She's gentle and kind. She is concerned about cat welfare. And she's become connected with the community cats in Edmonson Park, Oskaloosa, Iowa, USA as she's looked after them for a long time under TNR principles.

Woman is tearful over the prospect of losing the feral cats she cares for. Screenshot.

The story is so typical of the cat world. The authorities - the local council or city administrators - have a businesslike vision of their city. It needs to function well. Their viewpoint is in no way sentimental. But in seeking this efficiency their decision-making lacks compassion. And it lacks sufficient concern for animal welfare.

This inevitably leads to a conflict between some individual residents and the council as is seen the video on this page.

It is a paradigm example. Something similar has happened a thousand times before across the US. It is happening right now. 

Nearly always a lady or small group of ladies fighting the local authority over the care of feral cats who were put there by negligent human behavior.

The woman wants to find a compromise which saves the lives of the cats in her care. Is that asking too much? The council should listen and stop being bully-boys.

Adelaide has become a city of a 200,000 private zoos

Adelaide, South Australia, have placed the ultimate restrictions of cat ownership. They lead the world in this regard.

Aussies see cats both domestic and feral as a pest when it comes to their relationship with native flora and fauna. Some local authorities are ahead of others in restricting cat ownership freedoms in order to protect native species and the administrators of Adelaide, Australia have probably gone as far as any jurisdiction can to restriction cat ownership. 

The long-suffering cats and their owners have to desex, microchip, register with the authorities and confine to their home all domestic cats.

We all understand the rules but are they genuinely enforceable? They probably don't have to be as 99% of Adelaide's residents will probably willingly comply because they've been indoctrinated with the notion that domestic cats are a massive threat to native species while ignoring the greater threat from humans (increased human population leading to more settlements and activity destroying habitat).

Adelaide's cats have to be registered once they are 3 months old. I think Adelaide is one of only a handful of councils anywhere in the world where they have compulsory registration. It may be the only council with this requirement. It is that rare.

The fees for registration are as follows:

CATEGORY	FEE
Non-standard cat	$100.00
Standard cat (desexed and microchipped)	$30.00
Concession non-standard cat	$50.00
Concession standard cat (desexed and microchipped)	$15.00

A cat owner can take their cat out on a lead but few will as it is a tricky process. Violation of the local law leads to a fine of $187.50.

The big prob

The council have overlooked one enormous problem with their ordinance. None of these confined cats will enjoy a substitute that matches the fun of their freedoms when allowed outside. They'll become bored and fed up. They'll moan to their owners and meow to be let out. They'll torment their owners.

The big flaw that is never admitted in keeping cats indoors full-time.

They'll eventually give up and settle in to a life or boredom and pleasure eating, leading to obesity. I understand the local laws and am sympathetic but they should be extended to mandate that cat owners provide an enriched confined environment such as an obligatory garden enclosure.

That would be asking far too much of course. So, they just bang-up (imprison) the cats. Adelaide has become a city of a 200,000 private zoos based on the rough estimate that there are that number of households with a pet cat.