Purr-fect Storm: New IU Grad Instantly Famous for Odd Cake

UPDATE, June 24, 2013: Marsh Supermarkets posted a witty Facebook reply to its not-so-cat-astrophic mistake.

More often than not, the stressful situations revolving around graduations fade into funny memories—and in 22-year-old Laura Gambrel’s case, a national giggle due to (of all things) the purr-fect miscommunication. In celebration of Gambrel’s recent graduation from Indiana University, her mother brought home a sweet surprise. “She ordered the cake with my face on it and asked them to draw a little cap on it,” Gambrel says, “and the guy taking her order looked at her funny and said, ‘A cat,’ and she said ‘Yeah, a cap!’” Her mother was surprised but amused to see the black icing outline of a cat perched atop her daughter’s head. However, as both she and Laura are feline fans, she actually asked they not fix it.

“She was able to keep it a secret from me until I got there and saw it in person, and I’m so glad she did because it was the hardest I’ve laughed in a while,” Gambrel says. As any other young adult today would do, the Zionsville native posted the photo online, on the cat-friendly Reddit website. Needless to say, it was a hit.

Now with more than 30,000 “upvotes” and after landing on the site’s main page, Gambrel has been contacted by RTV6, Fox 59 News, WTHR, and Chicago’s WBBM radio station. Huffington Post and Gawker ran this Hoosier story on their sites, but without time to spare, bypassed reaching out to her. Her most notable inquiry came from ABC’s Good Morning America. And on Friday, thanks to the misunderstanding between her mother and the baker, this IU alumna was mentioned on The View.

Regardless of what one thinks of the feline fascinator affixed to her head on the cake, of this we’re sure: Accidental, instantaneous fame looks good on Gambrel.