Her meow is small but mighty! Mike Bridavsky, the owner of social media phenom Lil Bub, revealed his Instagram-famous cat’s best celebrity encounter to Us Weekly Senior Editor Anna Chan at Cat Camp, New York City’s first feline-focused conference, on Saturday, March 11.
“One of my favorite photos of Bub of all time has been with Robert De Niro,” Bridavsky said. “It’s just an amazing photo. He was very excited. I think it was the 2013 Tribeca Film Fest. In an interview, he said one of the things he was looking forward to most was maybe getting to meet Lil Bub.”
Lil Bub, short for Lillian Bubbles, has gained a significant fan base on Instagram, where her account (@iamlilbub) boasts over 1.5 million followers. With the help of Bridavsky, Lil Bub has raised more than $500,000 for charity and has her own books, clothing line and documentary. At last week’s Cat Camp alone, she raised nearly $16,000 for her Big Fund and KittyKind thanks to her meet and greets and merchandise sales.
Read on to find out about some of her other celebrity interactions, her greatest achievements and her upcoming projects.
On Meeting David Foster
“I don’t think he’s a cat guy. She really senses energy. I don’t know him personally, so I have no idea. But she definitely did not like his energy. And he sort of was heavy-handed with her for a photo op, and she was like, ‘Get away from me!’”
On Turning Poop Into Wine at a Fancy Hotel
“When I came back, there’s diarrhea splattered all over this comforter! So I called down [and told the front desk]. But then a Russian lady calls me very upset,” Bridavsky said. He went on to explain how angry the hotel employee was, and how she threatened to charge him thousands of dollars for the destroyed comforter over the phone. “But then she came upstairs and the second she saw Bub, she just froze,” he said, describing how the woman, though she was unfamiliar with Lil Bub, recognized that she was a special cat, apologized and then sent up a bottle of wine. “And that’s how Bub turned poop into wine!”
On Traveling and Being Catty
“She prefers [traveling] to being at home. She has a rare bone condition, and the vibration from the car and the plane is good for her bones. She has very dense bones. She has no trouble with traveling. She loves meeting people. The one thing she strongly dislikes is other cats. She’s very catty!”
On What’s Next for Her
“There are talks of a TV series based on our life story, so a drama sort of thing. We signed with a production company and so that’s in the works. And she would actually play the role of the fictional character that’s based on her. That’s pretty exciting. We’ve got a video game, she’s come out with a record. It charted when it was released! And we have a new record — we might be doing a Christmas album this year: Lil Bub’s Christmas album. And the funny part is, she’s Jewish!”
On Retirement
“I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like I want to retire! But she’s going strong. She might take a break, but she’ll always be around.”
For more information on Lil Bub’s charity events, visit Lil Bub’s Big Fund for the ASPCA, a partnership aimed at providing for special needs pets like Lil Bub.
