PARIS — After the Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld died last February at age 85, a rumor began to circulate: He had left his fortune, and a large part of his worldly goods, to his Birman cat, Choupette.

The estate hasn’t been settled yet, and Mr. Lagerfeld’s team remains mum on the subject. But the public’s concern for the desolate puss was genuine. “People came by the store and said how sad they were, and half of it was about Choupette,” Caroline Lebar, the longtime head of communications for the Karl Lagerfeld brand in Paris, recalled earlier this month. “They’d say, ‘If she’s alone, I’ll take her home.’ ”

Since then, fans have continued to inquire: How is Choupette? Where is Choupette?

“It’s like unlocking a mystery,” said Stephen Gan, editor of V Magazine. “What happened to Choupette?”

According to Ms. Lebar, “She lives with her nanny” — the former Lagerfeld housekeeper Françoise Caçote — “here in Paris. She is in good shape, and is surrounded by love.”