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Karl Lagerfeld loved one thing more than anything else: his cat Choupette.

 

Karl Lagerfeld’s passing at the age of 85 has people deeply concerned about the welfare of his beloved cat, Choupette.

But they needn’t worry.

If there’s anything we can say for certain about the arrangements of the fashion icon’s estate, it’s that Choupette Lagerfeld will be well taken care of.

The Chanel designer has previously indicated that his pampered feline, arguably the love of his life, will inherit a good chunk of his estimated $273 million fortune.

 

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Lagerfeld has been besotted with the white-haired Birman since he adopted her from her previous owner, model Baptiste Giabiconi, after falling in love with the cat during a two-week house-sitting stint.

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“When [Giabiconi] came back I thought, ‘I’m sorry, Choupette is mine,'” he told CNBC’s Tania Bryer in 2017.

During the interview, he spoke of his own surprise at his infatuation with the cat, whose name means “sweetie” in French.

“Choupette is such a strange thing because I never thought that I could fall in love with an animal like this.”

But he did. And that love saw him treat Choupette to the kind of luxury lifestyle most of us humans could only dream of.

 

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Waiting for @welovecoco to drop at @ultabeauty like… ???? #welovecoco #ilovecoco

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Choupette has been served gourmet meals on silverware alongside her “daddy”, brushed four times a day, protected by a bodyguard and attended to by “several” of her own maids. She also played with her own iPad, regularly travelled with Lagerfeld in town cars and even slept on his pillow with him at night.

“Even if she sleeps, she doesn’t want to be alone,” he told CNBC. “She’s like a chic lady, like a kept woman with her personal maid.”

The feline is an icon in her own right, with a popular Instagram account, a blog and many products featuring her likeness, including her own makeup line (for people, not cats).

Lagerfeld, who had no children of his own, focussed all of his affection on his fur baby.

“She is the centre of the world,” he said, describing her to The Cut in 2015.

“If you saw her, you would understand. She is kind of Greta Garbo. There is something unforgettable about her, the way she moves, the way she plays. She’s an inspiration for elegance. For attitude.”

Other times he has spoken of the extent of his love for her, even saying he’d like to be buried with her.

“She is peaceful, funny, fun and gracious, she’s pretty to look at and has good poise, but her main quality is that she doesn’t talk. It was love at first sight,”  he told Numéro magazine in 2018.

 

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Happy #FathersDay Daddy @karllagerfeld. Thank you for bringing me into the (fashion) world. ????

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“I’ve asked to be cremated and for my ashes to dispersed with those of my mother… and those of Choupette, if she dies before me.”

He confirmed to the magazine that Choupette was heir to his fortune “among others”, but is also quoted as saying that his cat is wealthy in her own right.

“Choupette is a rich girl. She has her own little fortune,” he once said.

“If anything happens to me, the person who will take care of her will not be in poverty.”

It is not yet known who Choupette Lagerfeld’s new carer (we don’t dare say owner) will be, but it’s fair to say that the pretty kitty will continue to live a life of luxury.