Death of celebrity cat saddens the internet

A round face, white fur, fatty body — but more importantly, a full set of funny poses — pushed a cat to stardom on Chinese internet.

Lou Lou （Photo/Official weibo account of Lou Banniang）

Lou Lou （Photo/Official weibo account of Lou Banniang）

Lou Lou, an instant online celebrity with over 680,000 fans on Sina Weibo, the Chinese answer to Twitter and one of the country's major social media outlets.

Lou Lou （Photo/Official weibo account of Lou Banniang）

Its facial expressions have been adapted into emojis and widely used on the internet. "You may not know the cat's name, but you must have seen its emojis," says Lou Banniang, the cat's owner.

Lou Lou in hpspital（Photo/Official weibo account of Lou Banniang）

Lou Lou in rescue（Photo/Official weibo account of Lou Banniang）

Sadly, Lou Lou died of a heart attack on Oct 14, leading to a wave of despair among quite a few online users.

Lou Lou （Photo/Official weibo account of Lou Banniang）

Lou Lou （Photo/Official weibo account of Lou Banniang）

"I cannot accept the fact that Lou Lou has gone forever, and my favorite emojis cannot update any more," Weibo user Xiao Pihai_223 said.

Lou Lou （Photo/Official weibo account of Lou Banniang）

"One of the necessities in my life is watching each and every move of Lou Lou. It looks like an angel to me, and it has now gone back to paradise," added Pai Dadui, another user.

"Lou Lou We are home."said Lou Lou's master in Weibo （Photo/Official weibo account of Lou Banniang）

The cat first gained public attention last year, thanks to a short video recording its naughty yet interesting movements in the bathing process, and a clip that has been viewed millions of times.

As storm chaser Ashton Lemley picked his way through a tornado-ravaged Mississippi trailer park, he heard the unmistakable meow of a kitten pierce the predawn darkness.

The homes were flattened just hours earlier as storms spawned at least three tornadoes across the bottom half of Mississippi, injuring a dozen at the trailer park in the rural community of Bogue Chitto.

Lemley had no idea where the kitten was, but he was determined to find it. After a few minutes, the meowing stopped, and Lemley feared the worst.

Then, five minutes later, he heard it again.

“I said, ‘Oh, he’s still alive!’” Lemley told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Lemley quickly dug under insulation from a flattened wall until his flashlight beam found the kitten — wet, scared and hiding between two wooden posts.

Lemley captured the moment on video: “Oh my goodness, I found him!" he says to the camera. "Are you OK? Come here – it’s OK. … We’ll get you cleaned up, baby. Don’t you worry.”

Lemley held the kitten in his arms for a few minutes before handing it off to the commander of the United Cajun Navy, a volunteer disaster-response group, who dried it off and took it to safety. Lemley marveled that it didn’t appear to be injured.

“I’ve been in these situations so many times,” said Lemley, who has been chasing storms since 2010. “I don’t try to get overly emotional. But it is very heartbreaking to see any type of animal or human go through something like that.”

Lemley says there’s already a lot of interest from people who want to adopt the kitten if its owners are not located. Some, he said, want to name it Tornado.

It won’t be coming home with him, though: Lemley is allergic to cats.

A man looks at the destruction left at Gene’s Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park in Bogue Chitto, Miss., on Thursday, May 7, 2026, after a tornado cut across the state. (Matt WIlliamson/Enterprise-Journal via AP)

A man stands among debris at Gene's Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park in Bogue Chitto, Miss., Thursday, May, 7, 2026, after a tornado cut across the state. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

An American flag is seen as people walk among debris at Gene's Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park in Bogue Chitto, Miss., Thursday, May, 7, 2026, after a tornado cut across the state. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)