Published by: Ingrid King. Last Updated on: July 12, 2023 by Crystal Uys
It’s no secret that cats are hot on the internet, and some of the more prominent internet cats have probably made their guardians rich enough to at least be able to give up their day jobs. If you’ve ever wondered whether your cat could be the next Maru, Grumpy Cat or Lil BUB, How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity: A Guide to Financial Freedom offers advice on how to make your cat the next feline superstar.
Written by Patricia Carlin, with photography by Dustin Fenstermacher, this “guide” will help you
- identify your cat’s special talent
- choose a stage name for your cat
- film and edit a viral video
With mostly tongue-in-cheek, but sometimes practical advice, this get-rich-quick book maps out the road to financial freedom for cat guardians. However, if you think you can just sit back and let your cat do all the work, think again!
“This road won’t be easy. In fact, it won’t even be a road; it’ll be more like a trail of urine that you can see only with an ultraviolet lamp. … And because your cat is, in all likelihood, a lazy creature who likes to sleep most of the time, you’ll have to work twice as hard for the both of you (which adds up to four times as hard.”
Still, think you want to get rich with the help of your cat? The book offers plenty of guidance on how to make the most of your cat’s fifteen minutes of fame. I chuckled through most of the book, but I will say that the section on how to make a viral video offered a lot of solid, practical advice on how to plan a shoot, dress the set, frame shots, and edit a video.
It’s when you read the sections that actually provide true practical advice when you realize that while we may be envious of some of the high profile internet stars, they didn’t accidentally become famous. There’s an awful lot of work that goes into a really good video. But, as the author says, “picture yourself at a cocktail party, reeling off the number of views your latest clip has received while all the other millionaires spit out their drinks in disbelief. It will be so worth it.”
What do you think? Does your cat have what it takes to be an internet star? More importantly, do you have what it takes to be your cat’s agent, manager, public relations representative, and faithful servant all in one?
About the author
Ingrid King is an award-winning author, former veterinary hospital manager, and veterinary journalist who is passionate about cats.