Grumpy Cat, the internet-famous pet renowned for being delightfully miserable, has died

Beloved celebrity internet pet Grumpy Cat has died.Her family announced that she died on Tuesday aged seven after “complications from a recent urinary tract infection that unfortunately became too much for her to overcome.”Grumpy Cat, real name Tarder Sauce, gained global fame in 2012 when photos of her went viral, earning her owners hundreds of millions of dollars and bringing her to the US' biggest celebrities and TV shows.Her family said that “Grumpy Cat has helped millions of people smile all around the world — even when times were tough.”Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.Grumpy Cat, the beloved cat with a grumpy face that won over the internet and gained millions of followers, died on Tuesday, her owners have announced.“Despite care from top professionals, as well as from her very loving family, Grumpy experienced complications from a recent urinary tract infection that unfortunately became too much for her to overcome,” a post on her official Instagram and Twitter pages announced on Thursday.“She passed away peacefully on the morning of Tuesday, May 14, at home in the arms of her mommy, Tabatha.”The statement acknowledged the global fame that Grumpy Cat had achieved: “Besides being our baby and a cherished member of the family, Grumpy Cat has helped millions of people smile all around the world — even when times were tough.”“Her spirit will continue to live on through her fans everywhere.”The family shared its statement on Twitter with the caption “Some days are grumpier than others...”She was seven years old.Grumpy Cat's real name is Tarder Sauce, but she gained her new moniker in light of her global fame as she became one of the world's first internet-famous pets and earned hundreds of millions of dollars. She currently has 2.4 million followers on Instagram and 1.4 million followers on Twitter. She first found fame in 2012, after images of her face went viral on Reddit.Her owners said it “was suggested that the original photo was photoshopped, so we posted a few videos on YouTube.” After that, “the videos went viral.”But, they say, her miserable appearance is deceiving. “She really isn't grumpy! She is a super cute and cuddly kitty and loves to be held and rubbed!” her website states.Throughout her life, she posed with celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Conan O'Brien, and Peter Dinklage, and even had a waxwork made in her likeness at Washington DC's Madame Tussauds.Grumpy Cat also appeared on NBC News' “Today” show in 2014 and on “Anderson” in 2013. She even had her own book and a movie, “Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever,” on Lifetime.Her owner, Tabatha Bundesen, founded a company, Grumpy Cat Limited, in light of her fame that faced demand from other companies seeking to use the cat's likeness. In 2018, the company was awarded $710,000 when a company breached the terms of a deal to use Grumpy Cat on its products.Bundesen said in 2014 that the cat's fame allowed her to quit her job as a waitress after she made almost $100 million in just two years.Grumpy Cat's official website says that her unique features are “likely due to feline dwarfism and her rear end wobbles a bit when she walks due to this.” Otherwise, it says, she is “perfect.”