It was her family who confirmed the news via the artist's official Instagram account.
“This morning, from her childhood home and surrounded by her loving family, Catherine entered peacefully into the light and love of her heavenly Creator“, the message begins. “We are forever grateful for the love that Catherine and our family have received over the past few months.”
“Cat has seen her music achieve things she never expected and rests in peace knowing she will continue to provide for her son through her music. Without all of you this wouldn't have been possible. Thank you.”
The message states that the late singer's social media will be managed by her brother Cubby and will also be responsible for managing “all operations surrounding Cat's music, merchandise and public relations.”
Finally, it was announced that the singer had left more material to share with the public, but “all in due course.”
Janice the cat died.
Photo credit: Cat Janice/Instagram
Why did Cat Janice go viral?
The singer has been battling cancer since 2022, when she was first diagnosed. The illness disappeared that same year but returned fatally in January 2024, severely affecting his lungs.
After learning about the difficult situation she would face, the 31-year-old woman wrote a touching song for her 7-year-old son titled “Dance You Outta My Head,” which went viral on various platforms.
Cat Janice's intention was to leave all royalties from this song to her son as financial support once she is gone.
Who was Cat Janice?
Catherine Janice Ipsan, known professionally as Cat Janice, was born on January 20, 1993 in Virginia, USA. He showed his passion for music at a young age by learning violin and piano at the age of six. With 14 years of classical training, he joined an orchestra, jazz bands and theater productions. At the age of 12 she began writing her own music and later learned to produce it herself.
Over the course of his career, he released several albums, including his first work in 2014 and the album “Fire” the following year, with southern rock influences. In 2019, he won a Washington Area Music Award (WAMMY) for Best Rock Artist. Her song “Pricey” appeared in a 2020 episode of the series “Selling Sunset.” Additionally, her music was featured on the television show “Redneck Island.”
In 2022, Cat Janice discovered a lump in her neck and was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare and aggressive type of cancerous tumor in the scalene muscle. Despite her illness, she continued to work as a geographic information scientist, earned a master's degree in coastal geology, and created her own music. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy to treat the tumor. During her treatment, she worked on her album Modern Medicine, which included the emotional song “Wishing I Was You,” inspired by her experience with cancer.
In January 2023, Cat Janice released the song “Chill the Fck Out,” which was about stress and being overwhelmed. Although his doctors announced he was cancer-free, the disease soon recurred in his lungs. Cat Janice continued to fight and performed alongside SOJA at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in the summer of 2023. That same year, she got engaged to boyfriend Kyle Higginbotham and they married in December, knowing their time was limited.
On January 19, 2024, four days after beginning palliative care, Cat Janice released her song “Dance You Outta My Head” on TikTok. The song, written together with Max Vernon, is about overcoming difficulties and simply dancing your problems out of your head.
Cat Janice decided to release the song independently so that the proceeds would benefit her 7-year-old son: “I think they're calling me home. My final joy would be if you would pre-save my song 'Dance You Outta My Head.'” “on my timeline and reproduction because all proceeds go directly to my son,” he wrote at the time.