Laidback street cat viral sensation Tombili immortalised with his very own statue

Among the many, many internet famous cats out there, you may remember Tombili, a tubby street cat known the world over for his super chill pavement stance as he leant on a curb in Istanbul and watched the world go by.

He’s now been immortalised as a statue after passing away this summer.

Tombili’s statue [Imgur]

The lead photo above saw him shoot to fame on the internet as we all marvelled at his posture and said, “Awww, he thinks he’s people.”

Sadly, the much-loved feline celebrity died in August after a month-long of illness.

A distraught local distributed home-printed posters in the surrounding area, saying “You will live in our hearts. Mascot of our street, beloved TOMBILI lost his struggle for life after a month and closed his eyes to life on first of August.“

Once the locals got wind of the news, plans were put into place for a more permanent tribute.

More than 12,000 people signed a petition to get Tombili a statue - and the resulting memorial is being unveiled this week.

It’s a fitting tribute to a cool cat - and it’s even got the seal of approval from the next generation.

A kitten gets to grips with the new neighbourhood addition [Imgur]

RIP Tombili.

Lead image: Imgur