Today I have a very special guest. You may have heard of her. She has her own talk show, her own movie, and I’ve even seen some awesome sweatshirts with her face on them. She’s one of the most influential special needs cats out there and I’m lucky to have her answer a few questions for me today. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Lil Bub!!!
C: Welcome, Bub! I’m so pleased to have you here to talk to me. I’d like to speak with you for a moment about who the real Bub is. Tell me, in your own words: Who is Bub?
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LB: I am a one of a kind magic woman space cat.
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C: I see. Fascinating. I’ve heard you referred to as an “alien” before. How do you feel about that?
C: I see. Fascinating. I’ve heard you referred to as an “alien” before. How do you feel about that?
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LB: Yes, I am from space. I feel great about it.
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C: Where do you keep your spaceship?
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LB: I can’t tell you where I keep my spaceship, silly.
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C: I see. Crafty. Being a special needs blog, we’re interested in what makes your needs special. Your website lists many of your differences, for instance, your oposable thumbs. Can you use them like human hands? Can you work DOORKNOBS?
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LB: My oposable thumbs don’t have the same use as oposable thumbs on Earth. I know you humans are so proud of your thumbs –
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C: Woah woah woah, all cats here. Don’t lump me in with the humans-
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LB: – because you think they make you so special because you can turn doorknobs and stuff. But can they cast spells? Because that’s what mine are for.
C: Casting spells is pretty awesome. As a side note, I’d really like to stay on your good side, although from what I hear, both of your sides are good. Tell me more about your specific special needs.
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LB: I was diagnosed with FLUTD, and therefore eat a very special diet of prescription wet food, mixed with water to ensure proper hydration. I call this BUB SOUP.
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C: That sounds delicious. What else?
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LB: Ever since I had a urinary tract infection, I decided to stop drinking and peeing in the litter box (I just pee wherever I happen to be when I can’t hold it anymore). I get my fluids when my dude mixes them into my food, so that’s taken care of. And my dude has to take me to the litter box every few hours and rub my belly in a very specific way so that I empty my bladder.
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C: We’ll call those “pee massages.” Tell me about your bones.
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LB: Due to dwarfism and a very rare bone disease called osteopetrosis, my mobility is rather limited. I cannot jump, and sometimes have difficulty getting around. And when I’m at my best, I’m still not as graceful as your typical Earth cat. My dude often has to help me get around and get on and off stuff.
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C: Yeah, but that’s probably because of our Earth gravity, which you’re not used to. How does your limited mobility affect your life?
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LB: Because I am not as mobile as most Earth cats, I can easily get constipated. My dude mixes a small amount of stool softener into my BUB SOUP to keep my stools nice, soft, and regular. Unfortunately there is nothing he can do to help them smell better. You can’t win ’em all.
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C: This interview is far more in-depth than I was expecting. Your BUB SOUP sounds very important. Does anything else go into it?
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LB: My dude also mixes Dasiquin (glucosamine) into my BUB SOUP to ensure that my cartilage and bones stay nice and strong since I am at high risk for arthritis.
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C: When MomFOD met you, she saw you napping with a little ring around your body. What was that?
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LB: I use an Assisi Loop, which is a Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field therapy device. Not only is this an anti-inflammatory, but it actually also helps with my osteopetrosis by helping my bones break down. Ever since using this device, my mobility has improved by about 200%, I can now stand fully upright, run, and sometimes even jump. I get two to four 15-minute treatments a day.
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C: That’s all quite detailed. Is there anything else that you require?
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LB: I require immense amounts of love and attention, which my dude has no problem providing me with. Love is the best medicine.
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C: You’re so positive, Bub. Do you have a health insurance plan?
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LB: I do not have a health insurance plan. It’s on my to-do list.
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C: You and your dude Mike are both very generous in the world of adoption. What is your biggest hope for homeless animals?
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LB: My biggest hope is that they all have homes! Every last one of them.
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C: What do you want to say to anyone that is considering adopting a special needs pet?
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LB: This is a wonderful and courageous thing to do. But make sure you are doing it for the right reasons and make sure you have the time, money and patience to cater to your special needs pet’s specific needs. Owning a special needs pet like me requires a lot of work and a lot of emotional and financial ups and downs, but it is also one of the most rewarding relationships you will ever have. No one is more grateful than a special needs pet, we return the love 10 fold. And if you’re extra lucky, you’ll get a pet like me who returns the love infinity-fold.
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There it is! My long-awaited Q&A with special needs icon Lil Bub! We learned a lot about her, but have you ever wondered about her dude? Well, guess what! MomFOD did a Q&A with Mike Bridavsky, Bub’s dude, and you’ll get to see that next week! So stay tuned for that, along with some awesome photos of Mike and his other cats. (Did you know he had cats other than Bub?)
I hope you enjoyed it!
Love,
Crepes.
Loved your interview, Crepes! You really know how to get to the heart of the matter.
And we had no idea there was an artist inside you!
Pawsome!
: )
Great interview, Crepes! You have a wonderful way of presenting “special needs” information that informs your readers and helps them understand that being special is a gift, and not something bad. Two paws up for Lil’ Bub and his amazing Dad (and for you, too, Crepes)!
Lil Bub seems to a wonderful optimist–and what his Dad does, I think is keen!! So much love and care—makes my eyes get a little leaky. I shared this interview on my Facebook Wall–would be great for other kitties (and humans!) to read about splendid Lil Bub! 🙂 Keep on Keepin’ Bub!!!
What a great interview. I love Lil Bub.
Sue B
Pawsome interview.We heard an interview with Lil Bubs owner
on our radio(CBC in Canada)
Our furcousins (Team Tabby) have her book and it is most interesting!
How wonderful you god to interview this amazing kitty.
You are pretty amazing too 😉
Purrs Tillie and Georgia,
Treasure,Tiger, JJ and Julie
awesum interviews crepes…we loved it…tho frank lee we dinna noe lil bub lived in space…wunder if her noes R pals de klingonz…they ever sew kind lee gifted uz a force feeld which surrounds TT 24/8…. N keepz uz a burd free zone….hay, nice two meet ewe lil bub ! 🙂
That was a very interesting interview! Thanks Crepes!
Very well done Crepes! The best Lil Bub interview I’ve ever read! I learned so much! I will def share!
Thank you so much! -Crepes.
Shared with <3
Pawesome interview! Wooooowoooooo!
Big smoochies to LIL BUB for being so candid especially about the reality of adopting a special needs pet. That’s a sweet drawing but I would have given you a pic from my interview with her. So she takes Dasuquin and not Cosequin?
Quoted directly from the interview, that’s the med name I was given! That’s ok about the photos. I like to draw!! There’s so much artwork of Bub out there, I thought I’d give it a go myself! -Crepes.
Opposable thumbs, huh? My sister Mason has those although, to this date, she STILL can’t knit up a nip mouse! MOUSES!
Lil Bub sure is a cutie. I’m so happy she has a super good peep who takes super good care of her like he does.
Purrs,
Nissy
Thank you for sharing this interview with us. It’s funny, we had never heard of Lil Bub until a couple of weeks ago when mommy went to a seminar about multicat households and the vet speaker was talking about her!! Now, we know some things about her, too 🙂
We have two special needs kitties here – Carmine and Jewel. Carmine can relate to a lot of what Lil Bub has – Carmine also has FLUTD and he was diagnosed with arthritis when he was only 5 years old. The glucosamine is great stuff and has improved his mobility a lot. He also has some other chronic conditions.
Jewel is our CRF kitty, and we’re doing our best to give her the most love and care possible as we all go through this journey with her.
Lil Bub is right; love really IS the best medicine! 🙂