Longtime YouTuber Steve Cash, who rose to fame with his “Talking Kitty Cat” videos, has tragically taken his own life. The 40-year-old passed away on April 16, his wife Celia DeCosta Cash confirmed in a Facebook post. “This is so hard. I’m not even sure what to say, or for that matter, what to do,” she began. “I just lost my best friend, my sidekick, my lover, my mentor, my absolute everything, this morning. I’m so sad to say, my husband, Steve Cash took his own life this morning 4/16/2020. It hurts me to share this. Please understand, give the family time to grieve, but know that Steve is no longer in pain.” Here are 5 things to know about the YouTube star.
1. Steve joined YouTube in 2007. He truly was one of the OG YouTubers. Steve joined the platform before the term ‘YouTuber’ had even been coined, and used that opportunity to gain notoriety in a short amount of time. He quickly became known for his series in which he voiced different cats, and accumulated more than 770 million views on his channel to date. Most videos featured Steve chatting with his cat Sylvester, who was notoriously grumpy and often didn’t acknowledge Steve at all.
2. He had previously talked about his mental health. Less than six months prior to his death, Steve posted a video on his Facebook page, explaining that he was in the middle of a manic episode. He noted that when he goes into a depressive episode, he often stops posting content for months at a time. “My bipolar is in a full low swing. I want so badly to finish the videos I’m working on, but depression is making it nearly impossible,” he wrote on Facebook. “It won’t last forever, and eventually I’ll be just as active as I can be! But for now, I’m kind of stuck with my thoughts. Btw, I rarely ever get online during depressions so this feels like a positive step for me.”
3. Steve’s family reacted to Celia’s post. The YouTube personality’s sister-in-law Candida also commented on the news on Facebook, writing on her page, “Rest In Peace my baby brother Steve Cash.” Steve kept his personal life quite private, keeping the focus of his videos squarely on the cats. In September 2019, he posted a photo to his Instagram showing a registration plate that read, “MRSCASH.” He captioned the post, “My wife’s custom license plate at the DMV.” The revelation that Steve was married came as a shock to many fans in the comments section, despite the fact they had been married for “several years” at that time.
4. His most popular video has 17 million views. Steve amassed more than two million subscribers, and his most-viewed video was titled “Talking Kitty Cat 44 – BAD! BAD! BAD!” It was posted in 2015 and has garnered more than 17 million views.
5. Fans are mourning his death. Since news of his death emerged, fans gave taken to social media to pay tribute to the content creator. “This is so sad to hear. I’ve watched Steve’s Talking Kitty Cat videos for years; videos that always managed to bring a smile to my face. A true guiding light in this world has been extinguished. RIP Steve Cash,” one fan wrote on Twitter. Another fan took to social media to mourn the YouTuber and reminded people to, “Check on your friends. Check on your loved ones.”