Nala Cat

Nala Cat is a Siamese-tabby mix rescued from a Los Angeles animal shelter at five months old in 2010 by Varisiri "Pookie" Methachittiphan, then a college student. Pookie began posting photos of Nala to Instagram in 2012 — partly to encourage her followers to consider shelter adoption. Nala's enormous round eyes and quiet, expressive face proved enormously photogenic. By 2020 she held the Guinness World Record for the most followers of any cat on Instagram, with over 4 million, and her audience has continued to grow across platforms. The Nala Cat brand has expanded into an entire pet food and lifestyle business, including a line of cat food called "Love, Nala" focused on shelter and rescue support. Pookie has used the platform consistently to highlight adoption — Nala's full story includes regularly fostering and rehoming new shelter cats from her Los Angeles home. In a media environment increasingly dominated by influencer accounts, Nala remains a relatively rare example of a viral animal account whose owner has channelled the attention back toward the cause that started it.