Meet Tater Tot, the Internet’s Favorite Foster Kitty

This article has been updated with new information about Tater Tot’s death.

Baby Tater Tot, the ginger kitten born with deformed legs and whose story captured the hearts of people around the world, has crossed the rainbow bridge.

Foster mom Ash Houghton, co-director of Utah cat rescue Kitty CrusAIDe, made the sad announcement via Instagram on Aug. 2.

“Today, our tiny spud passed away suddenly in my hands,” she said.

Houghton said Tater Tot’s energy had been slowly decreasing, and his passing was so sudden, she believes he had an enlarged heart and it just couldn’t keep up with him.

“One moment he was walking around and the next he was gone,” she said.

She expressed hope that his resilience during his short time continues to inspire people.

Tater Tot tribute art, shared with permission from artist Emma Siurk

“He was dealt a really tough hand with multiple health concerns, but he didn’t let that slow him down,” she said. “He showed us that even if we have some struggles, there is always something to fight toward. It has been so beautiful to watch millions of people around the world unite over the life of one small little creature.”

Tributes have poured into the Facebook group for Tater Tot fans, Tater Tot and His Spudbuds.

“The response has been really overwhelming,” said Houghton. “It’s been shocking to see just how big of an impact his story made on the world.”

The original story follows below. 

Tiny Tater Tot is under the care of Ash Houghton, co-director of a small cat rescue in Utah called Kitty CrusAIDe.

Tater was found in a rural area by a Kitty CrusAIDe volunteer’s dog, a Newfoundland mix named Bebe, who Houghton describes as a “gentle giant.”

“She regularly will find kittens and bring them home and be like, ‘Mom, this one needs help,’” said Houghton. “So she brought Tater Tot and another little kitten home with her.”

Sadly, the other kitten, about half the size of Tater Tot, had already passed away. The volunteer tried to bottle feed Tater and then brought him to Houghton, one of the neonatal fosters for the rescue, the next day.

The Kitten With the Casts

Little Tater was a bundle of tiny, twisted legs.

But when Houghton examined them, she found he had feeling and motion in them, so he wasn’t paralyzed.

So, the first order of business was getting Tater to eat because he was only about a day-and-a-half old at that point, and he needed nutrition.

Houghton tried to feed him with a syringe but he just didn’t understand.

“Normally, when you’re first bottle feeding the kittens, it’s not a natural feeling for them so they kind of struggle for a minute or two, but eventually they’ll kind of understand what they’re doing and that instinct will kick in. But this little dude just wasn’t getting it,” said Houghton.

Houghton and one of the other directors at the rescue then took a look at the roof of Tater’s mouth.

“I poked my little finger in, opened his mouth, and saw he had a wide cleft palate, and nobody in the rescue had ever dealt with a cleft palate before,” she said. But Houghton knew how to tube feed so she swapped the syringe for a tube and started Tater on liquid formula.

“We were just taking it kind of hour by hour, and he has just really, really fought to be here,” Houghton said. “From day one, I could see Tater had a lot of spunk, a lot of motivation. And as long as he is fighting to stay alive, we’re going to keep fighting for him.”

Once the feeding was going well, the next issue to be addressed was Tater’s legs.

“His front legs were bent at basically the wrist, at a 90-degree angle, facing downward,” said Houghton. “And so, when he was trying to walk, he was walking on his tiptoes or on the tops of his paws.”

The veterinarian put braces on Tater’s front legs to stretch the muscles and the tendons and pull his paws into a natural position so that he can walk on them normally.

“We’ve been calling them his bonkers,” said Houghton.

Tater Tot = Hot Potato

Houghton said she always shares her fosters online, so she shared Tater Tot as normal.

Then someone tagged the Facebook group, This Cat Is Grompy.

“I was like, ‘oh, this is funny. He does look really grumpy in this picture. I’ll post it [in the group],'” Hougton said. “Then it got thousands of likes and I was like, ‘oh, my gosh, I’ve never had this happen before.’”

She hadn’t intended to post more photos but Tater Tot continued to gain fans, and they encouraged her to share more updates.

“I did that for a few days and every post has thousands of likes, which has just never happened,” said Houghton. “It’s been absolutely crazy.”

She decided to create a group to share Tater Tot content. Tater Tot and His Spud Buds has more than 20,000 members from the U.S. to Europe, New Zealand, and South Africa.

“The intention behind the group was just to share his updates, and then I really wanted to highlight other animals with special needs,” she said. “Share their stories and see if we can maybe help other creatures that have disabilities get adopted.”

Houghton said she had no idea that Tater Tot’s story would affect so many people.

“There was a tweet that went out that last time I looked had 11.8 million views, and it’s just it’s been absolutely crazy, but it’s like the good kind of crazy,” she said. “I feel like Tater Tot is really bringing a lot of joy to a lot of people.”

Artists Take on Tater

Tiny Tater has brought out the artist in his fans, and they are sharing their creations.

“And folks are asking, how can we help your rescue? What can we do? People are donating artwork to us to create merchandise to sell that will all go to the rescue,” said Houghton. “People have donated to their local rescues. It’s so uplifting and amazing to just watch this tiny, 215 gram little creature make such a positive impact on so many people.”

Hot to Trot

Tater, who turned 5 weeks old on July 21st, 2023, got his bonkers removed and he’s doing very well.

“He’s walking around,” said Houghton. “I’ve got him in a playpen right now, and he is walking better than he has the whole time I’ve had him.”

Houghton’s vet thinks Tater’s back legs, which are curled into him, can be splinted like his front legs. He’s also receiving a special kind of kitty therapy.

“For the next three and a half weeks, I’m going to be doing stretches on him, kind of like physical therapy to extend his back legs,” said Houghton, who is hopeful Tater won’t need surgery.

Tater’s cleft palate may naturally close as he gets older but he may need surgery for that.

Not Your Average Spud

Houghton said Tater’s personality is starting to emerge.

“He’s very sassy. He has a lot to say all the time. He’s very opinionated. He’s going to be a very chatty cat,” Houghton said. “And then he gets really, really sweet and snugly. It’s like two opposite sides of the spectrum.”

Tater is small for his age, but he’s continuing to grow and his vet is happy with his progress. Houghton said he may eventually be put up for adoption, but that the main priority is focusing on his medical needs and care right now.

Houghton is happy that the tiny kitten has brought joy to so many people.

“I feel like he’s bringing people from all different walks of life together,” she said. “All of the comments and the posts and the shares have been really positive, and you don’t see that very often anymore. It’s just been amazing…to be able to share something that is having such a positive impact.”