This Singapore kitty with 12,000 followers eats to live, and lives to play

Fluffy & Famous is a weekly video series where we interview "infurrencers", a term we coined for famous fur kids who aren't like your regular influencers on Instagram.

This week, Rhea the Siberian cat shows off her wild side that's normally hidden under her chic, classy and catty demeanour. Don't be fooled by those big eyes, she's got an insatiable thirst for fun and an equally large appetite for mischief.

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Rhea the Siberian cat might just be a newcomer on the block, having only embarked on her journey to be the ultimate infurrencer in April this year, but she's got well over 10,000 followers to prove that a swish of her tail is all it takes for anyone to fall in love with her.

Of course, we had to experience the phenomenon that is Rhea for ourselves, so we sat down with 29-year-old meowmy Ernieza Zailani, 29, to find out just what it's like for her feisty kitty to be an internet star.

HOW DID YOU COME TO OWN RHEA?

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It all started with me having Zeus, also a Siberian cat, but he passed away due to a heart disease. We thought to ourselves that living without a cat would never be the same and I wanted a cat for a companion.

We went to a Siberian cat breeder just to specifically get Rhea since Siberian breeds are known to be hypoallergenic, and it would help my mum since she has asthma.

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WHAT MAKES RHEA SPECIAL TO YOU?

She's nine months old now but she's still like a true blue kitten — She plays non-stop and she chooses playing over eating. Sometimes she forgets to eat because she's playing.

Rhea is also known to be really goofy and she does things very stupidly. She's a female but she's very clumsy, she's not graceful, she doesn't care about her surroundings and she's just not calculated at all.

HOW DID RHEA'S CAREER AS AN INFURRENCER START?

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She's just following the footsteps of Zeus! I mean, previously Zeus was known to have a fair bit of sponsorships. We'd bring him to pet expos and he won a few competitions as well.

So after he passed on, a lot of our sponsors-turned-friends reached out wanting to work with Rhea. That's how she got the opportunity.

WHAT ARE THE PERKS SHE GETS FROM BEING A PETFLUENCER?

She gets her monthly food supply, treats and litter from her sponsors. She also gets certain perks such as having a percentage off when we shop at certain shops. Aside from that, we get free clothes, bowties and hats for her to model on her Instagram account.

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ARE THERE ANY INTERESTING EXPERIENCES RHEA HAS WITH HER FOLLOWERS?

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I wrote on her Instagram saying we only have rainy and sunny seasons here in Singapore. So what happened was that one of her fans from Canada actually picked up autumn leaves and sent it over to us by mail just so that Rhea could feel the autumn leaves between her paws.

It's really nice to know that there are people out there who take comfort in Rhea's posts and they are happy just look at her photos and videos.

ANY FUTURE PLANS FOR RHEA?

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We are trying to get her used to be on a leash so we can take her out for walks and then gradually bring her out to the park or by the beach so her Instagram posts won't be limited to just being at home.

WHY DO YOU THINK CATS MAKE GOOD PETS?

I'd say because they greet you at the door, they are cuddly, they will love you nonetheless, even though I think it's just because I give her food.

But in my opinion, all pets would make good pets so it doesn't matter if it's a dog, a cat, a hamster or anything.

ALSO READ: This Singapore 'infurrencer' can shake his butt on cue and has more Instagram followers than you

rainercheung@asiaone.com