Friends, it is my pleasure to tell you that a chonky cat from Melbourne has gained fame and acclaim across the pond in Russia. Don’t believe me? Well, I will happily show you. Prepare thine eyes for maximum thiccness.
Introducing Bender, an 11-year-old chonky cat who lives with his owner Nella, a 70-year-old queen who shares vids of her big boy on TikTok for the world to see.
And the world definitely does see them. The account has amassed 1M followers, most of whom live in Russia, where Bender has become a cultural icon.
@benderchonkycat
The duo live in Melbourne’s suburb of Tecoma, and in an interview with Nine Honey, Nella says she never expected to gain such an international following of dedicated fans.
“I still am shocked and cannot believe it,” she said.
“I just can’t believe how big it is. A lot of people comment on my TikTok saying how their lives are happier as watching his videos make them happy.
“All I want is for Bender to make people happy, which he seems to be [doing].”
Nella’s parents were Russian but moved to Australia in 1949, so it’s hard to say that this fact has any relation to Bender’s overseas popularity.
You can have a gander at Nella and her chonky king together in the TikTok below.
@benderchonkycat after 10days apart we are heading home#cats#chonkycats#fatcats#roadtrip
And here’s Nella’s friend holding the big lad. He is… so huge. I love him.
@benderchonkycat my friend Emily loves cats#benderchonkycat #cats
Here’s a tourism ad from the City of Tula in Russia which quite literally uses Bender’s face.
And here’s one of many TikToks dedicated to the king of thicc.
“Bender is that famous in Russia because he resembles a typical close relative giving un-demanded advice on a regular basis,” one of the comments on Bender’s TikTok reads.
“It actually is so Russian, being kind and caring and yet giving these awkward and often too intimate or personal [pieces of] advice, which would generally be considered rude.”
Quite the overanalysis for what is literally just a cat, my dude, but pop the fuck off.
Oh yeah, and there’s fan-made merch and artworks of the damn cat. Talk about influence.
If you need me, I’m going to be consuming more TikToks of the big boi. I am truly in awe at the size of this lad.
@benderchonkycat @kotiynet #benderchonkycat#fatcat#cats#Котбендер
@benderchonkycat
