Humans aren’t the only ones capable of being famous. Everybody knows that by now. I mean, who can resist liking and following the cutest, quirky little faces on the internet? Check out these 7 Insta-famous pets and their stories! And no, they’re not ALL cats and dogs.
Lionel the Hedgehog (139k followers)
Starting off the list is our cute and spikey friend, Lionel. His owner Anna Mathias was about to get a dog when her sister called, saying that a boy she knew at College of Charleston was giving away a hedgehog. Mathias drove down the next day and she has been taking care of Lionel ever since.
The adorable hedgehog had 1,000 followers in a week and 27,000 followers in less than six months after Joe Jonas (yes, from the Jonas Brothers) reposted the photo of him above. Besides internet fame, Lionel was also featured on television, People, and Forbes magazines. He even has his own fashion brand, Lionel The Hog. Oh, the Jonas Brothers met the celebrity hedgehog, too!
Hamlet the Pig (390k followers)
Hamlet, or Hammy for short, came into her family’s life when her owner Melanie got sick. Melanie’s husband wanted to bring a friendly pet home but he was allergic to dogs and cats. That’s when they discovered pigs as pets!
Hamlet started as Melanie’s therapy pig from Nashville before becoming a viral sensation. Full of joy and a bit of an attitude, Hammy has become a pet fashion icon and even has her own clothing brand on Etsy.
Jill the Squirrel (631k followers)
Jill reportedly had fallen out of her nest during Hurricane Isaac in 2012, Louisiana. The squirrel was rescued and taken care of by her human mommy to recuperate. It was supposed to be temporary, but Jill ended up staying and becoming friends with the family’s other pets.
According to her owner, Jill has a cage but she’s usually allowed to run and jump around the house unbarred. She is also apparently trained to use a garbage can as her bathroom!
Pumpkin the Raccoon (d. 2019, 1.4m followers)
Like Jill the Squirrel, Pumpkin was also nursed back to health by a family. They found her in their backyard with a broken leg upon falling out of a tree. The local Humane Society was reportedly unable to take her in so the raccoon ended up getting comfortable at their home.
While the family knew her natural habitat is the wild, the baby raccoon would not have survived out there even after healing. Jill’s owners responsibly had her spayed and vaccinated, deciding to keep her as a pet since it wasn’t illegal in the Bahamas. The playful raccoon lived with a loving human family and constantly cuddled with the family’s two rescue dogs before passing away in October.
Juniper Fox (2.9m followers)
Meant to be bred for her fur, Juniper was adopted by Jessika Coker, an advocate who runs an animal sanctuary for rescued and abused animals. She happily lives with a red-fox named Fig, albino-fox Elm, and malamute pooch Moose. There are also other reptiles and marsupials under the Coker roof.
Jessika shares the reality of living with a fox — ripped up couches, minor bites and scratches, and lots of indoor peeing. However, the rescuer is passionate about animals and she admits that she wouldn’t have her life any other way.
Nala Cat (4.2m followers)
Meet the most famous cat on the internet, Nala! This adorable tabby cat is best known for her slight cross-eyes and unrealistic, cartoon-like beauty. She keeps her fans updated on the cutest and silly parts of her everyday life with a firsthand account, a relatively new thing on Instagram before her fame.
Nala was just 5 months old when she was surrendered by her owners to an animal shelter. Her fur parent, Varisiri Mathachittiphan, explained how she visited the shelter with a cousin just for fun: “Even though I never really intended to adopt a kitten that day, when I saw her, I just knew it was meant to be. The reason I started posting her Instagram photos was to share her with family and friends back home.”
Jiff the Pom (9.6m followers)
Last but not least, the most Insta-famous pet is a multi-talented Pomeranian! Jiff is known for setting the Guinness World Record for the fastest dog to walk on two legs and living a lavish celebrity life with a reported net worth of $6 million.
Don’t judge him yet; all the fame and money for this canine was purely from talent! Thanks to his adorable face and incredible wit, he has been cast in movies, appeared in commercials with Target and Banana Republic, invited to huge events like Mark Zuckerberg’s 2018 F8 conference, modeled for numerous pet and fashion brands, internationally nominated and awarded, and featured in Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” music video. That’s not even ALL of his accomplishments. Even the city of LA declared August 20th as “Jiff Day” in his honor! How amazing is this cutie? No wonder everyone wants to take a picture with Jiff — EVERYONE.
