Behind the Scenes of Lil Bub's Traveling Circus

Lil Bub is an adorable, deformed kitty that should not even be alive. But there she was, in the flesh, drawing 400 "awwing" people of all ages to the Metro last Wednesday evening. Elderly women in cat t-shirts, hipsters on dates, and shy handicapped children in wheelchairs all came to see the Internet famous creature—who, among other amazing feats, was the star of her very own VICE film—sit at a miniature desk for 90 minutes and fake interview David Yow of the punk band The Jesus Lizard.

Titled "Lil Bub's Big Show," the event was designed to raise money for charity and sell books, with the format a direct adaptation of the web show under a similar name. Promotional and a bit lazy, sure, but the audience didn't care. They were in the presence of a cultural icon, a manifestation of the web's native religion, and that was enough. Audience members I spoke with, perhaps lost in some cat delusion, "looooved it," called it "purrfect," and said, "it exceeded my expectations."

As a stage production, Lil Bub's Big Show relied heavily on witty dialogue typed on a projector by Lil Bub's owner Mike Bridavsky and prerecorded Lil Bub sounds—think cute kitty story hour punctuated with YouTube videos and strange meows. (This laptop-reliant format is actually quite popular among Internet celebrities and emulated by top YouTubers in their own live shows.) There was only one acoustic guitar song by Yow.

When the audience wasn't cooing over the Lil Bub sound effects punctuating Bridavsky's dialogue, they filled the venue with silent cheering. Lil Bub gets startled by loud noises, so the audience was asked to exhale loudly instead, with the result akin to a communal hiss of friendly snakes. Somehow, it wasn't creepy.

The gentle fanaticism Lil Bub evokes became more apparent later during the Q&A, when a woman said in earnest to Lil Bub, but really to Bridavsky, "I think you're wonderful, you make me very happy and I am glad you exist." Another woman told Bridavsky he was attractive and wondered if there was a Mrs. Bridavsky. Bridvasky let her down gently; you could tell he had practice. Later, in an interview, Bridvasky admitted he gets this a lot—"Yeah, it's a little weird but I think the idea of a guy taking good care of a special needs cat is attractive to women."

Special needs is an understatement: Lil Bub, with her bulging eyes, perma-kitten body, extra toes, and malformed jaw is a cat that just should not be. Her various genetic deformities affect her mobility, ability to eat, and cause her constant pain and suffering (and her to piss and shit herself), and yet, it is this hardship the internet has fallen in love with.

"I think it's very cool, and think it's important that her eyes bug out and her tongue sticks out, it makes her extra quirky and extra cute," said a 22-year-old Bailey on why she likes Lil Bub.

Bridvasky firmly believes Lil Bub became famous because of her deformities in order to save herself from them. "Traveling is good for her condition," he explained, because the "vibrations of travel help break down osteoplasts [bone cells] that wouldn't break down on their own."

Bridvasky and Lil Bub have been traveling regularly since her Good Morning America appearance in 2012. Her fame has "basically saved her life" he said, not just because of the travel, but because an unnamed fan tipped him off to a Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy device known as the Assisi Loop. Since using it, Lil Bub has become more active and is generally in a better mood.

Her jutting pink tongue and dwarf frame may be what initially caught people's eyes, but it is her constant struggle that made them forever fans and that's precisely why they came out to see Lil Bub that Wednesday. Annie Coutcher, a 51-year-old mother of three, is drawn to Lil Bub because her son has autism. Lil Bub has "inspired her," she explained, to accept differences in people and to have hope, showing "even a weakness can become a strength."

She holds her Lil Bub plushy while I interview her, and takes it with her every day to work in her cubicle where it brings her constant joy. Erin McEwan, the Special Events and Outreach Manager of the animal charity Tree House Humane Society, where proceeds of Lil Bub's Big Show will go, noted they've seen "more interest in special needs cats" because of Lil Bub, and she calls the kitty an "underdog."

This increased interest in mutated cats has extended to fans asking Bridvasky if they could mate their cats with Lil Bub, which he is adamantly against. "I love taking care of her and she's a lot of work, but honestly, no animal should have to have so many challenges in life," he said, before continuing, "Her chances of living are so slim already she'd be in so much more pain if she got pregnant and she probably wouldn't even survive the pregnancy." There will be only one Lil Bub.

After the show, audience members who have paid extra to touch Lil Bub form a queue, their recently purchased books ready for Bridvasky and Yow's signatures in one hand, smartphones in the other. Twenty-eight-year-old Sam Steinberg commuted an hour and a half from the suburbs to get here, so another hour wait in line is nothing. "She's softer than I expected," he said afterward with bright eyes. "The softest cat I've felt in my life, I've never felt anything like that."

I touch Lil Bub myself, find her to be of average softness, and wonder about Lil Bub's planet.

Watch VICE's doc on Lil'Bub here.