Woman Describes How Her Cat Earned $41,900 In 2023
Wouldn't it be nice to be a cat?
Casey Elsie Christopher / Shutterstock TikTok pet influencers have been all the rage. Basically, owners post daily videos about the well-being of their furry friends, and the cuter the videos, the better.
One specific Bengal cat has been capturing the attention of millions of people throughout 2023 and he has the paycheck to prove it.
A woman revealed that her Bengal cat's internet fame came with a $41,900 paycheck in 2023.
Cleo The Bengal hosts a TikTok account that focuses on educating viewers on feeding cats a raw diet.
After growing in popularity and reaping the monetized benefits of the account, Cleo's owner decided to share a breakdown of her monthly earnings with followers.
Cleo made a whopping $41,900 in 2023 with November being her top earning month at $15,500 following a post with almost five million views. Sponsored videos, discount codes, and Linktree specials helped earn Cleo a bigger salary than most recent college grads.
Pet influencers are making more money than ever before.
Giants like PetSmart began sponsoring TikTok videos aggressively in 2022 as evidenced by the Golden Retriever Life account. It garnered the attention of 9 million viewers and made over $20,000 within that same year.
Even though it creates opportunities for businesses to reach another platform, it also makes other viewers want to follow pet influencer TikTok. In fact, there are more influencers on pet TikTok than ever before!
In a video made by Gabrielle Judge, she openly shared why everyone should start doing pet TikTok if they were too "lazy" to work.
“I’m so lazy that my dog has a job,” she claimed. “I’m just a dummy-dummy lazy girl that doesn’t want to work.” She explained how, with sponsored videos, her dog was paying her rent and giving her $2,000 a month in video earnings.
Earning money as a pet influencer isn't as simple as sharing cute cat videos.
Like any job, an influencer isn't as simple as it seems. While Judge might joke that she is "lazy," it's likely very far from true.
If you plan on becoming part of the pet influencer community and want to earn as much as Cleo, be prepared to put the work in. From research, finding a unique niche, and creating engaging well-edited content, successful influencing is a time-consuming career path that's highly competitive.
Photo: davidpereiras / Canva Pro
Remember, too, that you are putting your life in the public eye, which isn't something everyone enjoys.
If you aren't deterred, the sky's the limit in terms of earning potential. And what better job than to work when and how you want, especially when your favorite furry friend is your boss and CEO? You might not end up having as much money as Taylor Swift's cat, but enough to not work anymore.
Lauren Reams is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news.