By In the Internet world where cat videos are all the fancy, Bub the "perma-kitten" could be on the edge of viral stardom.
"She's the best living thing on the planet," says Bub's owner, Bub (yes, the same name) Bridavsky of Bloomington, Ind., who says a rare genetic disorder has produced a one-of-a-kind cat.
According to her Facebook page:
Bub is a "perma-kitten", which means she will stay kitten sized and maintain kitten-like features her entire life. She is also a dwarf, which means her limbs are disproportionately small relative to the rest of her body. She has very short, stubby legs and a weird, long, serpent-like body. Her lower jaw is very short compared to her upper jaw, and her teeth never grew in (yes, that's right, she's toothless!), which is why her tongue is usually hanging out.
What it makes for is a small, cute cuddly ball of fur that already has many clicking on videos of her and following her on Twitter.
For example, in a recent video Bub looks happy and purrs and rubs up on Bridavsky's hand because her owner has returned after being away for a week. That video has been viewed more than 145,600 times. Another one on her YouTube channel shows the tiny feline smacking around a dog named Sammy who is much larger than Bub.
Bridavsky says Bub was not bred to be small and that she "squonks, squeaks, gurgles, snorts, hiccups, purrs and sometimes even growls. She also occasionally meows, but even those sound kinda funny."
All caught on video.
And who knows, there may be more in store.
The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis will host what may be the first Internet cat video film festival on Aug. 30, which the Los Angeles Times describes as "an evening long exploration of the joys of viral cat videos."
"Depending on your relationship to viral cat videos, this film festival may sound awesome, or terrible, frivolous or adorable," festival organizer Katie Czarniecki Hill told the Los Angeles Times. "And that's kind of the point. It will be interesting to see if people think it is silly, or great, or a waste of time. But I like the idea of everyone admitting they like cat videos."
Who says people don't like cat videos?