I’m sure you already know that my two dumplings, Cookie & Pippin, are the love of my life and I often write about them in the naughty felines section of this blog. Apart from the fact that I feel strongly about raising awareness about proper, healthy cat food, I’m also convinced that Cookie and Pippin, my beautiful mischievous cat duo, were born to be pet models. Today I’d like to share a few of my best tips on how to make your pet #instafamous without the need to dress them up as a Minion or a rainbow vomiting unicorn.
How to make your pet famous on the interwebs?
PETS ARE FRIENDS
It’s ever so important not to forget that pets are your friends. They are your family. They are living creatures that desire love, your care, time to chill and lots of delicious treats throughout the day. Also an infinite amount of tummy rubs and from time to time, they need to be left the ef alone. It’s very tempting to dress your cat up in a little silly cowboy hat and a pair of tiny sunglasses, take 57428437029423 snaps and #johnnydepp your masterpiece on Instagram. I’m pretty sure that unless your cat is Yves the Cat, they won’t appreciate your dress up games and will find them highly annoying. Don’t torture your dear friend just to get some likes from it.
PAY BACK TIME
Taking lots of photos of your tiny friend might be the best fun ever but really, they are just being a VERY dedicated cat model for you. All that patience shouldn’t come for free. Treat your little munchkin to some fancy treats (I recommend freeze dried prawns, they are SO DELICIOUS!) or perhaps to a new snuggly cosie! They have some beautiful toys, play tunnels and even fluffy beds on HiHouse. Plus getting lots of toys means also new props for your photos – which makes it a double win! And your little snuggle bug will love you forever for being the best cat parent ever!
THEM PHOTOSHOOTS
Lots of people set up Instagram accounts for their pets and just snap away like there’s no tomorrow posting (what I’m pretty sure are) the blurriest pictures they could possibly ever take. Put a little effort into your pet’s Instagram account, create a feed theme, write eye catching captions. Just go that extra mile and you’ll see that it pays off. You can find some beautiful inspiration over at Imogen the Kitten or I Am the Cat Photographer.
FOR A CAUSE
Growing a strong online influence also comes with more responsibility. Things your instafamous cat says and does can suddenly gain a lot of significance and weight amongst the online community of pet owners. Use this power to share knowledge, raise awareness or fundraise for less fortunate pets. I’m not saying that you immediately need to become the next Kitten Lady (although if you do want to then I’ll very happily support you because bloody hell, that girl is an absolute kitten angel!). Start slow with little things and tiny good deeds and let the community guide you to bigger aims. For instance Cookie and Pippin have already supported two charitable campaigns throughout their online career of instafamous cats. The first one was a 15k charitable run for the Cats Protection (which I ran in their place because their paws are too tiny and it would take too long to wait for them in the finishing line and I’m a damn good cat mother like that) and the second one was a cat teepee we built for a Blue Cross campaign. The teepee was later auctioned off and the money went to support cats without a home. We later found out that our teepee went to a lovely home of Dee, a gorgeous cat who was recovering from cancer. How amazing is that?! Cookie & Pipps were well chuffed with their efforts!
SHARE THE LOVE
And finally – the Instagram pet community is such a lovely, friendly place that keeps constantly sharing love. Everyone is ever so supportive! Take Peggy for instance – Peggy came up with a #meetmyhuman hashtag where she shares photos of her online friends together with their owners! How cute is that!! The internet is full of beautiful cats who are not afraid to support each other. I’d like to take the opportunity and share my favourite cat stars with you – have a look at Pippin (he’s such a funny bean!), Zombie (he’s the cute & poopy one), Charlie Burrito & the squad (four oddball cat brothers) and Lil Adolf (because ven you zis smol life iz simply beta).
Who’s your favourite instafamous cat?
Oh, and don’t forget to follow Cookie & Pipps on Instagram – CLICK HERE!