Yesterday was just bizarre and sad with the news of Karl Lagerfeld’s sudden departure from this world. Like many of you, one of my first thoughts was for Karl’s beloved cat Choupette Lagerfeld. Choupette came into Karl’s life seven years ago, when she was just a three-month-old kitten. Karl’s muse Baptiste Giabiconi asked Karl to look after his kitten while he was traveling. When Baptiste came back to claim his kitten, Karl told him that Choupette no longer belonged to him. Choupette was Karl’s love ever since. I think his love for this beautiful cat surprised even him – he treated her like a princess and doted on her completely. Choupette has assistants dedicated to her comfort and everything, but even then, she adored Karl. Anyway, I expressed my condolences to Choupette yesterday and I’ve never had a tweet blow up like that. Choupette even thanked me:
Merci for your condolences 😿
— Choupette Lagerfeld (@ChoupettesDiary) February 19, 2019
Obviously, Choupette wasn’t online in the hours after Karl passed. Ashley Tschudin is the woman who runs Choupette’s social media, and Ashley was the one thanking people for their condolences, and issuing statements about how Choupette is coping with her loss:
“During this time, Choupette is coping with the loss the best she knows how to, but at such a young age (and being a cat), that is challenging. Karl Lagerfeld is and will always be her ‘Daddy.’ She is choosing to put her best paw forward and hopes that her loyal fans and followers will continue with their outpouring of love to help ease the pain.”
As a cat mom, I find it sweet. When you love cats, you do worry about them and worry about what will happen to them if something happens to you. Well, we still don’t know what exact arrangements have been made for Choupette, but most people believe that Karl made certain arrangements for Choupette’s care and well-being. Reportedly, Karl knew he was sick for several months at least, so I imagine he had the time to review and possibly change his will. The Daily Mail suggested that Choupette – and the people who care for her – will get a large chunk of his $100 million-plus fortune. Choupette has earned her own money too – she’s her own valuable brand.
Photos courtesy of Choupette’s Instagram.
That’s so sweet. Pets grieve too. I hope she’s okay. I’m sure he’s seen that she will be.
I have mixed feeling on Karl. I found many of his pronouncements horrible, and some of the Chanel lines made my eyes hurt. But it is clear he loved Choupette, so there is that. Cats are so complex, and I believe they feel and understand as deeply as dogs, they just express it differently. Choupette has more money than any of us, and I know she is well-cared for, but she knows she has lost her main person.
As a mother of cats, my heart aches for Choupette and her loss. For animals is hard to move on and Karl sure loved her very much, she’ll miss him forever.
If he was sick for months, Choupette knew it was coming. Animals do. (I have a friend who has said that if she dies suddenly, she has written instructions that her animals are all to be brought to see her body so they will understand why she’s not coming home.)
That said, condolences to her. I’m sure she’s grieving.
That is a very smart instruction. If I ever have a pet again, I will do the same. Thank you for the inspiration!
I love Choupette. She looks VERY similar to our kitten Cricket. And my god, if I had Karl money, my cats would 100% be living it up like Choupette.
What a beautiful young lady. I’m very sorry for her loss — it can be just as hard on animals to lose someone.
Our cat was distraught when our dog died following a seizure a few years ago. We rushed to the vet and came back without the dog who raised her from a kitten, her partner of 7 years and she grieved hard; prowled the house and caterwalled all night long. It was heartbreaking but comforting at the same time to know she felt the loss too.
Oh no that’s so sad. I can see how having her share her grief would be reassuring in a way.
So sorry for your loss.
Cats are so smart and they do grieve. One of our two cats passed after an illness and the other cat (who was his feline mother) knee she just seemed to know he was gone and she definitely grieved with us.
My 5 year old cat used to fight with the one who passed this summer at 19. They would drive each other absolutely nuts. When Patch passed Fynn was definitely depressed. She was less interested in food, she would vocalize way more, she’d need to be on top of us as much as possible – she was genuinely upset. It broke my heart – I can’t even imagine how upset she’d have been if they’d gotten along from the start. We got a kitten mid-October because I foolishly believed that after losing the other cat maybe she’d be more welcoming of a kitten. Noooope. The kitten gives it to her the same way she would harass Patch, so I guess it’s fair.
We were in NYC for two and a half days and two nights this past weekend. That’s the longest we’ve ever left our kitties home alone and I seriously couldn’t WAIT to get back to see them. They missed us a LOT. They even came upstairs early the next morning to check on us.
So, they know. They know when we aren’t there anymore and they miss us in their own cat way.
I do feel for Miss Choupette but it’s important to remember that she’s very lucky–FAR luckier than most kitties who’s fate is uncertain after an elderly owner passes away. This is why my mom refuses to get a cat after her last two passed away: she’s in her seventies and doesn’t want to think of her cat ending up homeless. I’ve told her a million times that we would take her kitty but she feels that it’s too much to ask of us as we already have two. *shrugs*
But Choupette will be well-cared for and she will not have to deal with the threat of languishing in a shelter or even worse, being put down. She’s a lucky lady, all-in-all.
Could your mom foster cats for a nearby shelter? That way, the commitment isn’t long-term.
I have suggested this to her countless times, Algernon. I think fostering would be a great option for her plus she and my dad are retired so they would have tons of time to devote to fosters that may need extra care. Last time I was home I even slipped her a pamphlet from a guy who runs a small shelter and is always looking for fosters. But she insists that she would get too attached to the kitties and wouldn’t be able to give them up. Sigh.
If you Mom gets too attached to foster, she should look into getting an elder cat. They have such a hard time getting adopted and it would not be too long a commitment. Also, many rescues will take an adopted cat back if the owner dies and there is no family member to care for the cat. Hope she can find a way to have cat love in her life.
Knowing the importance of a good human, my cat has decided that she will make the ultimate sacrifice and “share” me with dear Choupette. As the transition will be difficult for poor Choupette, in an attempt to keep things as normal as possible for her, my cat has decided that, for the time being, we will move in with Choupette.
lol I was also going to offer myself up to become Choupette’s new guardian. She can join my three rescue cats who each believe themselves to be the Queen of the house.
How kind and thoughtful of you both!
Ha, I love it. I have been thinking that my kitty would really like an adopted brother or sister but they rest of my (human) family doesn’t agree. I have a feeling she would love Choupette and would fully endorse your selfless gesture, lol.
I was just thinking the same, I have even a word for this: CATDIGGER!
She’s such a pretty kitty.
Thank you, Kaiser and everyone’s beautiful words. I will always make sure the animals are cared for. Choupette is a very lucky gal indeed. Let’s all promise to have someone take care of our babies. My cats are 10-15.5 in years and I try really hard no to be sad. .Do ya’ll have advice on getting a kedi after one passes? I want to honor Boris’s memory and do it the right way. See, I am already talking about his death. Calm down, Nicole.
It is National Love Your Pet Day.
I like to torture myself by thinking of the day that my senior (she’ll be 12 in May) kitty passes away. I honestly cannot imagine life without her. It will be really hard for my BF too as she is a total “daddy’s girl” and they have a really special relationship. Ok must stop talking about this before I start crying at work. Ugh.
I had to walk out of work to go cry for a minute! It will be hard for my man too. Boris is my everything and that is going to be the worst time. I cry being away from them for a few days! He is the only man that has been here for me that long. I still call him Putin because he is an icy thang. Not icy to those he loves. He is just choosy.
I feel the exact same way when I think about my little man, who turns 13 this year. I got him on a whim in my last year of undergrad and he’s been my bud ever since. I know part of the responsibility of pet ownership is having to make that horrible decision one day, but I know I’m going to be a mess when he crosses the rainbow bridge. I can’t imagine my life with him not in it!
Don’t feel too bad. Our oldest is 20 and still going, so you may still have lots of time with yours. When they have lived a good, long life with you and pass away, then you can save another life or two and maybe consider adopting an adult or senior cat, since they languish in rescues and shelters far more than kittens. Thanks for giving your babies so much love.
I get you. I spent the last 5 years keeping an ill, senior cat alive and happy for as long as possible. She got ditched by her previous owners when they sold us their house. She made it to 19 – and she was the most fantastic cat I’ve ever had. But she was hyperthyroid and had an enlarged heart. I tortured myself imagining having to euthanize at some point, but she went on her own terms. She was in great health the night before, and passed quickly in the morning.
I had already prepped myself for her passing and the idea of a kitten. But I 100% spent an entire month crying after she passed. I went to look at the shelter once and left in tears. We happened upon an ‘oops’ Siamese/Ragdoll litter a couple of weeks after that and brought home Cricket shortly after. I am glad I didn’t wait TOO long to get another cat… but I’m glad I had some room to grieve too. But once I’d fully accepted that we were getting a kitten I finally felt excited about something after feeling so inconsolable for weeks.
My kitty turns 10 in October and I’m trying to appreciate every moment I have with her. I don’t know that she misses me when I travel tho, lol
I mentioned on a post a few months ago that my old bf died suddenly last year and there was a GoFundMe set up for his dogs. It’s so important that we make provisions for our pets if we go before them.
There is a very sweet but sad video on YouTube of a lady who is very, very ill. Her daughter brings in her parrot to see her and say goodbye. Parrots are another intelligent pet and, when possible, I think all loved pets deserve to understand why their owner is no longer there.
Sweet post, but FYI, Choupette’s Diary is a satirical site and is no way connected to Karl Lagerfeld. Ashley Tschudin doesn’t work for Karl. She started the site herself and said that Karl’s team reached out to her once and just asked her to be respectful.
I adopted two kittens a month ago and they are just the best little critters to enter my life. It makes me emotional sometimes how sweet they are and how lucky I am to be their mom. Non-cat people just don’t understand what wonderful companions they make, even if they’re not as outgoing as doggos.
I just always find it curious when animals are left millions..i always worry that animal won’t last long and the money will be abused in the wrong hands.
Full disclosure – I am a crazy cat lady (3 rescues) and a lawyer and my husband and I have no children, just our fur babies. I have made provisions for the care of our little ones in the event of our deaths and I too worried a little about the incentive to keep my kitties in the manner in which they are accustomed if the money was delivered as a lump sum, even though my sibs are their godparents and I have every confidence in them. But we lawyers see all the cases where stuff has gone off the rails, so I am hardwired to prepare for that.
So I created a trust that will deliver an annual sum for their upkeep with discretionary lump sum payouts so long as they are living. A friend of mine is the trustee and the terms of the trust stipulate (among other things) that each pet must undergo an annual vet visit and certificate of same issued to the trustee before the annual sum is paid out (proof of life, essentially – and just so a different cat isn’t substituted, they cannot change vets without the approval of the trustee and without transfer of medical records) .
Told you I was crazy.
Don’t judge me but I have eight rescue cats. I love Karl for loving her. She’s a beauty. RIP Karl.
Cats feel hard. After my mom died suddenly the family cats were bereft. They sat in her chair waiting for her to come home for weeks. About a month after her death one took off , we presume looking for her. My poor father was besides himself with my mom gone and his cat missing. The cat came back like three weeks later, clearly upset and heartbroken. It took a long time for them to know she wasn’t coming home.
Similarly, when my dog died, his cat of 13 years took it hard. The cat searched the house for the dog and for months slept on the dog’s bed, waiting for his buddy to come back. He was terribly sad for months until he accepted it. Pets do feel things, and cats are super complex beings.
So sad.
As much as I cannot even fathom the heartbreak of losing my beloved cats, I don’t want to predecessor them for this reason. I’d rather suffer than for them to spend one moment thinking I had left them and confused as to why I wasn’t coming home.
This made me very sad because of Choupette. I am also a cat and dog mom. Poor baby girl. His relationship with her made me more interested in him.