Aussie cat-fluencer claws in a staggering salary online
Honey, who lives in Melbourne with her human parents Paul and Nicole, has proven herself to be quite the star of her very own Cinderella story.
Honey had been spending her days on the streets when she was taken to a local animal shelter, and stayed there for months while she waited on someone to give her a place in their hearts and in their home. Luckily, cat lovers Nicole and Paul became smitten with the kitten on a visit to the shelter, and wasted no time in adopting her.
Their furry friend, who is now 3 years old and living a delightfully pampered life, has come a long way from her lonely start in life. These days, Honey dazzles people from all around the world with her Instagram account, where she “performs” as a chef, poses in custom costumes, and shares delicious recipes with her 164k followers.
Honey’s success has proven a treat for her owners, too, with the cat drawing in a stunning salary of $63k last year alone. Although this income already falls above the median national salary (according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics), it’s predicted that the sum will only rise from here, having already skyrocketed from $50k in 2021.
“We started Honey’s Instagram in January 2020 when we adopted her,” Nicole said in an interview with news.com.au, “as a way to document her growing up.”
“When the pandemic started, I had a bunch of extra free time so really started to research and invest myself into learning more about social media and how to be successful,” Nicole explained of the decision to start the account, going on to add that they “grew followers pretty quickly and had 20k within four months, but the only brand deals we could secure were gifted at first.
“We got our first paid deal about six months after we had started, but didn’t start to see decent earnings until mid-2021.”
Nicole credits Honey’s rise to internet fame to their Instagram reels, telling news.com.au, “things really started to take off when we started posting the reels. We do baking reels, they really show off Honey’s persona as a cat chef. People adore her.”
Honey’s success has led to opportunities most can only dream of - she has her own merchandise, and a cookbook coming out later in 2022. Of their branching enterprise, Nicole admitted that “it is important to have multiple streams of income, as brand deals are not always available.”
She went on to explain that they try to keep their content relevant, watch out for what’s trending, and to balance education with entertainment. But most all, they try to do whatever Honey wants - despite criticism that they are only using their furry friend for financial gain.
“Honey loves making videos, and really enjoys all the attention she gets when we film or take pictures,” Nicole assured, “she is often purring through the whole process. She also always gets her favourite treats as payment, of course.
“We never do anything she doesn’t want to do, and ensure her health, safety and happiness always come first.
“Creating content with her has been an amazing way to bond and document her life with us, make friendships and connections from around the world, and inspire others to adopt from and support shelters.”
Images: Instagram