For Honey, now internationally known as Princess Honeybelle, life started humbly in a shelter in 2019. Her mom, Nicole, was grieving the sudden passing of a kitten she just adopted – But decided to open her heart again for another try… Fast forward five years, and Princess Honeybelle is essentially the feline Paris Hilton – With both being success stories in the worlds of fashion, cooking, and influencing. Despite juggling several careers, this boss kitty managed to make a lil’ time to chat with us!
Celebrity Pets: Thanks Honey for making time in your busy schedule. Can you start us off with how you and your mom Nicole met?
Honey: I met my mom by chance one day at a shelter here in Melbourne. I had recently had my desexing surgery and was relaxing and playing in a recovery cage with my other litter siblings, when a lady asked if she could hold me. She cuddled me in her arms and I quickly began purring and fell asleep. She was crying, and I think they were happy and sad tears. I didn’t want her to put me down, I felt so safe and warm… She must have felt the same, because she took me home and the rest is history!
CP: What was your kittenhood like? And life before you started your career as a chef, model, and influencer?
Honey: I had a very normal kittenhood, full of play and learning (and antagonizing my older brothers Kody and Mocha). I had lots of energy as a kitten and loved to climb up the doors (which I still do!) and jump off of things from really high up. My pawrents didn’t appreciate this that much.
CP: What inspired you and your mom to start creating content?
Honey: Mom was on leave from work due to health reasons, and adopted me as a way to help herself heal. She wanted to capture and document every moment, so started an Instagram account as a fun way to be creative and connect with other cat lovers. She has always regretted not taking enough photos and videos of Kody and Mocha as kittens, so she thought an Instagram account would be the purrfect way to create and share memories.
CP: What would your mom says makes you “you”?
Honey: I’m sure at first glance many would assume I’m a serious diva, but just ask my mom and she’d say I have so many funny quirks! I’m actually a really silly and goofy girl. I love sticking my tongue out all the way when I yawn, I make the funniest noises and groans, and I tend to be a little gassy and sometimes toot when my pawrents are cuddling me.
CP: And If we don’t tell mom, what’s the naughtiest thing you’ve done?
Honey: Well, since you asked… Just last night I flung my brother Kody off of the exercise wheel by jumping on and running really fast while he was walking. Oh and a classic was that one time I ate a gecko that snuck into our house.
CP: Despite your mom rescuing you, we heard you were very supportive of her, especially during the COVID lockdowns. Do you mind sharing a bit about that?
Honey: we live in Melbourne, which had some of the most strict COVID lockdowns which took a toll on so many people’s mental health. It really helped my mom to focus on me and creating our Instagram account together, and we deeply bonded while we spent 24/7 together.
CP: You also have two feline roommates, Kody and Mocha. Tell us about them and what’s your relationship like?
Honey: Kody is a great older brother and I’ve learned so much from him! He’s incredibly wise and smart. Mocha and I have always had a love/ hate relationship ever since he first saw me as a kitten and hissed. But we have our special moments where we snuggle up together or chase each other around!
CP: First Taylor Swift’s cat Benjamin Button appeared on the cover of Time Magazine. Then you were featured in Time Magazine’s “Cats: The Feline Life” 2024 Special Edition. What was that honor like?
Honey: it was unbelievable! As a former shelter kitty, I feel incredibly honored to be featured in Time Magazine. It’s something that my family will never forget!
Honey the Chef
CP: How did you get into baking? Were you a natural in the kitchen or did you develop your skills over time?
Honey: I’m a born natural! I saw mom making a pumpkin pie one day and decided to help her out. She realised how talented I was and knew I was destined to Mixy Mix!
CP: The first food-related video you posted was baking a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving in 2020. How was the experience creating that first video? Were you nervous about posting it and putting yourself out there?
Honey: I was a little nervous, and you can definitely see that in our first video! It’s amazing looking back at our first videos, because you can see how far we’ve come! Video and reels had just started on Instagram, so it was very new to us. But trying something new definitely paid off!
CP: What do you like most about baking and creating baking videos?
Honey: My favorite part is the quality control (aka taste testing)! I love making sure the ingredients are purrfect, and enjoy my “chef’s privilege” of getting a lil’ taste.
CP: What do you find challenging about baking?
Honey: Sometimes it’s hard for me to grip or hold onto certain tools with my paws, so I need a little from my pawrents. Also, it can be difficult to hold back from snacking on some of the extra yummy ingredients like yogurt or cream.
CP: Do you have to help clean up? Or do you just swipe everything off the counter and call it a day?
Honey: Head chefs (and princesses) don’t clean up, that’s for the pawrents to worry about. Although I’m happy to help lick a bowl clean!
CP: Do you have any funny behind-the-scenes stories or bloopers of baking you can share
Honey: We actually share lots of behind-the-scenes for our subscribers, including bloopers and funny outtakes! One funny memory that comes to mind is when I saw a bird while we were baking, and I ran over to the door and stalked it while still wearing my chef hat. It looked like a scene from a cartoon!
CP: Can you share a favorite baking video of yours?
Honey: We have so many favourites! A classic one that we and so many followers love is our Pineapple Princess video. It’s so much fun, and the first time we featured Honey dancing.
Honey the Fashion Model
CP: While your career as a content creator started out with baking, you quickly expanded into fashion and modeling. How did that come about?
Honey: I just LOVE dressing up, and have since I was a kitten! I truly love the attention I get. Mom got me a cute knitted pink sweater from Kmart when I was a kitten and posted it on Instagram, and Kmart ended up sharing the photo on their Instagram. It was their most popular post up until that point, and got so many comments! We knew then that people truly loved seeing my outfits, and made sure to make more fashion content!
We like to choose outfits that show elegance, class, sophistication. You often see pure-bred pets wearing things like high fashion or designer items, and we love the idea of me, a simple shelter kitty, wearing Chanel or Louis Vuitton. Because even though us shelter pets arent fancy pure breeds, we still deserve a luxurious and fabulous life!
Honey, on fashion as a form of expression
CP: With a now world-famous wardrobe, how would you describe your style?
Honey: A Mixy Mix of Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Zooey Deschanel. Classy, feminine, and sometimes a little quirky, cute, and comfy!
CP: Like Paris Hilton, you’re a cook and a connoisseur of luxury designers. What are a few favorite pieces of yours?
Honey: I adore my Tiffany collar, as it was a special Christmas to celebrate all my hard work that year! Mom also recently got me a pink Chanel bag from the first Chanel store at Rue Cambon in Paris, but I sometimes let her use it, too (just as long as she doesn’t scratch it)
CP: And what’s your process for your photoshoot? Do you decide on a particular style or theme ahead of time?
Honey: We usually pick out an outfit or two, and decide on the background/theme. We also have to wait for the lighting to be good, which is usually in the morning. Oh, and most importantly, we have my fav treats ready to go too!
CP: You also design your own merch and launched your hand-made brand, “Belle By Honey”. Can you fill us in?
Honey: Belle By Honey came about during Covid, and started out first as hand-crocheted scarves for kitties. As it took off, we expanded to making handmade reversible bows and bandanas, so that you could get extra wears and looks out of your accessories. We don’t make many accessories anymore as our priorities have shifted to focusing on content creation, but we do still occasionally make little custom outfits or pieces if needed for a shoot!
Honey the Influencer
CP: You and your mom have been very transparent about your work compared to most influencers. Why is that important to you?
Honey: We started off not knowing anything about influencing, and we learned from speaking with others and doing hours of research. We were lucky that others helped us by answering questions, as many influencers can be secretive. We believe that by sharing our knowledge and experience with others only strengthens the influencer community.
CP: Being pet influencers, what have been some of your favorite partnerships and collabs?
Honey: We’ve had so many fun collabs! We loved working with the Garfield Movie, we always have fun creating for Dine Cat food and their “Caturday Night In” campaigns, and we had the best time making an AD for an OPPO phone!
CP: What’s your dream job or project?
Honey: My DREAM is to work officially with Kitchenaid or Disney.
We LOVE our fans so much, and adore reading all the comments! The best is when they tell us how our content has made them smile, or helped them through a tough time. That’s our goal, just to bring a little sweetness to your day!
Honey, on how her fans keep her motivated
CP: Do you have any tips for aspiring kitty influencers looking to hit it big?
Honey: My biggest tip would be to just start creating! You’re not going to know everything at first, and you most likely won’t hit a viral video right away. But you will learn SO much just by doing it, and watching and interacting with others! Just make sure you’re having fun and connecting with the community, as that’s what it’s all about!
CP: Imagine you’ve finally landed that Food Network deal for your reality TV show, Princess HoneyBelle’s Boutique & Bakery. Who would be your top three celebrity guests and why?
Honey: Martha Stewart, Paris Hilton, and Paul Hollywood would be our first guests, because they fit our vibe and aesthetic purrfectly! Martha is an expert in the kitchen and home, Paris is all about pink and fashion and cooking, and Paul Hollywood knows good baking! I’d invite Gordon Ramsay but he makes me a little nervous…
CP: Is there a charity or non-profit organization you’d like to give a shoutout to?
Honey: We love supporting @tipsandwhiskers who are a TNR rescue based in California! They do amazing work, and mom had the pleasure of meeting them at CatCon in 2022 – and they are wonderful people! We also visited the Roman cat sanctuary @gattiditorreargentina and virtually adopted an orange female kitty named Shimmer. The ladies that run the sanctuary truly love and care for the cats, they are pawsome!
CP: And are there any pet influencers you’re a fan of or friends with that you’d like to give a shoutout to?
Honey: We have SO many amazing Petfluencer friends, including @wafflethetabby, @catnamedcalvin, @beautyandthebean, and so so many more. If you go through the list of accounts that we follow on Instagram, you will find some wonderful creators!
To not be so scared of grass! It’s actually really tasty and fun to run on!
Honey, on one piece of advice she’d give her younger self
CP: We saw you guys dropped a bumping hiss track. Any plans for an album?
Honey: We actually have a few songs that we’ve made, and may release them on Spotify one day!
CP: …So there’s a rumor floating around that you’re working on a cookbook?
Honey: yes, we’ve been working on one for a few years! Mom keeps procrastinating and putting it off as she’s scared of failure and a perfectionist, but I’m making sure she gets it published sometime this year, hopefully by November!