| Kepler |
Mal's cat Kepler on in "Sagan and Kepler: an average 8 minutes"
Kepler, also known as Keppy, was Mallory's cat, named after the German astronomer Johannes Kepler. He was introduced in the Vlog on Day 1019. His original name was Sid, short for Siddhartha. According to Vlog Day 5304, Kepler was adopted from Cat Tails which is a cat adoption agency in Ocean Isle Beach, NC. Kepler's birthday is on May 24th according to Day 3834.
Kepler was known for being the more energetic cat between himself and Sagan, and he commonly enjoyed snuggling and sitting on laps. He liked tampering with household items such as Stephen and Mallory's computer keyboards. His energy could often be seen on the vlog with his interactions of initiating "play time" with Sagan.
As a kitten, Kepler had an extended period of ill health, first noticed by Stephen on Day 1022. His first trip to the vet revealed some stomach issues and a fever. He later developed an abscess, thought to have been caused by playing with Sagan and a fever of 105.4, requiring a second trip to the vet to get the abscess drained and a fresh course of antibiotics. Despite the high cost of the vet trips, Stephen affirmed he was "one of the family". His later recovery manifested itself as a string of behavioral misdemeanors. He later suffered from a bout of ringworm and further stomach issues, destroying a cat condominium by vomiting on it.
Both Kepler and Sagan were intended to be toilet trained as kittens, mainly for the convenience of not having to buy litter and maintain their litter box. Despite early progress, Kepler later started showing erratic toilet behavior. Stephen eventually came to the conclusion the toilet training was causing stress for Kepler, and decided to discontinue training them.
An artist's rendition of Kepler vomiting.
Kepler's behavior and ill health in younger life became notorious to the point they were referenced even when the cat wasn't present. During a game of Telestrations, a drawing for 'Dragon Breath' was guessed instead as 'Kepler vomiting', which Stephen later illustrated, prompting a guess of 'Demon cat puke' which Mallory suggested was "spot on" for Kepler.
On April 2nd, 2024, Kepler had experienced congestive heart failure. However, Stephen brought him in to the emergency vet in time and he was successfully treated. They were then able to bring Kepler home 2 days later, albeit with some new pills to take and extra new supervision needed to watch his breathing. According to Stephen's Twitter post and the description section of the March 11th, 2025 Breakfast Stream, Kepler started showing signs of heart failure a little after 4pm on March 11th, 2025 and was rushed to the ER vet. However, there was nothing that could be done and he ended up passing away an hour later at 5pm on that day. He was 12 years old.
Trivia[]
- On Day 2864, Stephen mentions that Kepler will wash Sagan sometimes, but Sagan will never wash him back.
- For a currently unknown reason, Hayley calls him Kenneth.
- The reason why was addressed in the November 2017 Q&A video, but Stephen's answer was covered up by the sound of a train passing by.
- Kepler was deathly afraid of thunderstorms and would hide under the bed or some other piece of furniture when it thunders until the storm is over. He was also afraid of the sound fireworks make (Day 3143).
- Kepler was shown to love dry food, affectionately nicknamed Scoop™ by Stephen, Mal and the Twitch Chat.
- Kepler was the namesake of three horses in the Breath of the Wild Let’s Play, Keppy, Keppy 2, and Big Keppy. He is also the namesake of the horse Kepi in the Tears of the Kingdom Let's Play.
- Stephen revealed that Kepler had pancreatitis in a vlog in early in 2021.
- During the November 14th, 2023 Pikmin 4 stream, Stephen mentions that Kepler squinted his eyes when he doesn't like the smell of something. He also mentions that one of Kepler's favorite toys was a pickle plushie.
- The March 11th, 2025 Breakfast Stream was the last Breakfast Stream that Kepler appeared in.