Cattitude

From Rescue Cats to Internet Superstars: The Story of Beauty and the Bean

BIO:

Transcript:

Hello, feline friends, welcome to Cattitude. I'm your show host, Michelle Fern. And wow, I have one of the OG cat creators on Cattitude coming up.

I cannot wait to talk to her. So you're not gonna wanna miss this show. This is, I already know this is gonna be one of the best shows I've ever had.

So stay tuned, we'll be right back. Welcome back, everyone. I'd like to welcome Cassidy Howard.

She is the creator of Beauty and the Bean. So welcome, thank you for coming on Cattitude. Thank you so much for having me.

We can't tell Bean, otherwise he's gonna have a lot to say about it, that I was invited and he wasn't. Probably, yes. So let's get started with Bean and Lily.

What are their personalities like? And how did they become stars of Beauty and the Bean? Right, okay, well, first of all, they're just complete opposites and their onscreen characters are more exaggerated than they are in real life, but it's pretty accurate. So Bean is a cuddly, affectionate mama's boy. He's super funny and friendly with visitors.

He's just a classic orange cat, whereas Lily loves to have her space respected and enjoys her alone time and quiet. And I think that she's honestly just a great role model. She's a strong, independent woman and yeah, that's who they are.

But how this all started was, it was during the pandemic in 2020. My professional job is a videographer. So I do filming and editing for a living.

It's real estate and weddings and things like that. So I wasn't able to do work as everyone else couldn't in lockdown. So I was like, what's a way I can keep exercising my creativity? So I thought, well, I'm stuck in the house.

Here are my cats. Let me just start filming them. And that's truly how it started.

And here we are almost seven years later, still going. Wow. So you're considered one of the OG of cat creators.

I think social media during the pandemic really hit like crazy levels of high because people were stuck home. Yeah, exactly. Right? So can you tell us what the early days were like, you know, when you first started, when you first started sharing Bean and Lily? Of course, yeah.

It was just so, I don't know what the word would be, wholesome, intimate. Everyone was online, that's for sure. The obvious difference between then and now, I would say is that AI is around now.

So on the creativity level, it just felt a little bit more simpler back then. You know, people were chasing the trends and things like that. And that's how I started too, before I landed on the daily series that I continue with today.

But yeah, it's just like, animals are a great thing to have on social media. I find it's just very different and everyone can relate to it. I would say like language doesn't really matter.

Although I do add English subtitles to my videos. It's just such a relatable thing and the world is such a dark place. And I just think that, yeah, I'm happy to be doing what I'm doing.

That's for sure. Yes, and I'm glad you are because these days we could all laugh more. That's for sure.

Yes. So when you first started, did you realize that you were kind of in the beginning of the cold cat influencer phenomenon or you just, I need something creative to do and I'm here with my cats. Let's just do this.

Yeah, I had no idea that this would become what it is now. I just, again, was trying to just keep on filming and editing and trying to break something and figure something out. I had a feeling that there was something special I could do and I didn't know what it was until the very first episode of Waking Up With Bean because I do have the experience with filming and editing.

And yes, I do just use my phone for both of those. And professionally, I obviously use the real gear, but I just, I knew that there could be something special paired with Bean's strong personality, Lily's polar opposite. I just, I never stopped until I got to that moment.

And when I got to that moment, that's I think when I knew that, okay, I got to keep going with this. I don't know anyone else doing this. It kind of feels like a digital comic in the newspaper, if you know what I mean? Yep, yep, comics come alive.

Garfield, I don't know, but I was like, let's keep going with this. And then I don't remember, I should honestly look back and see when was the first day that I didn't post. I feel like I went over a year at least more, maybe two years, I don't remember.

But I do know that the first day that I didn't post a Waking Up With Bean, I got so many messages. Everyone's like, is everything okay? Because it become part of everyone else's routine, including mine, from my point of view, I like it because it keeps me accountable and disciplined. And it's like brushing your teeth and I know I have to do it every day.

And I don't resent that, and I love that. But to hear that other people were missing it, I was like, whoa, okay. That was a moment for me for sure.

Yes, and so you actually, every single day, do you ever take time off? Like it's vacation time for Bean and Lily? So when I do go on vacation or travel, I would pre-film and pre-edit if I had to, or my husband would stay home with the cats, obviously, and he would do cat dad takeover and continue the show. When I'm sick, I still show up. I do get migraines.

And so those were the days where I genuinely didn't post. But the only notable time where I actually took almost two months off was when I gave birth to my daughter about 18 months ago now. So I remember I knew that was coming.

They were with me the whole pregnancy. It was very special. And of course I had to transition to that new season of life.

But now that we're in that new season of life, the Waking Up With Beans series and the content with the cats is just so different. It's like, it's fresh again. We had how many years before she was born with their home alone cats, no little baby or toddler.

And now we're here. So it's like season two, I guess. I don't know what you could say.

Yeah, first of all, I commend you on your dedication because it's a lot. I mean, I have a minuscule Instagram that I don't put a lot on because I have two shows besides Cattitude. I also host Best Pets for Pets.

And between the two shows, it's a lot. So if I had to film and do something like that additional, or I mean, it's a lot. And you're a mom, new mom, congratulations.

And you're still doing, keeping up with the dedication with two months off. That's impressive. I missed it.

I didn't know what that would feel like when I got to that point, but I was like, something is missing. So I did my first episode back and I was like, okay, here's a piece of me again. And then I just continued on.

It's very hard, obviously. And then I had to adjust how I, when can I film and edit? And then maybe actually at the beginning when my daughter was napping more frequently or just the schedule of the day and things, it was actually like, okay, this is my spot. But now she only is on one nap.

And so it's funny, if you were to pay attention to the posting times and all that behind the scenes stuff, you would see what has changed from the beginning to now. Like the style of the text subtitles, or I don't know, I'm gonna really enjoy the archive of all this years in the future. It's kind of like a daily diary, and so I'm posting for everybody to enjoy and they all have their reasons, but I have my own too.

And it's just, yeah, it's really nice to talk about and reflect with you about this. So for those people that are listening that have not been to your site, it's at Beauty in the Bean. And we'll have this on the page on Fat Life Radio, but it's at, and it's Beauty, the letter N, the Bean.

So for those that, again, for those that have maybe haven't stumbled upon your Instagram or seen anything, what is a typical post? That's a great question. I should have maybe introduced that near the beginning, but yeah, so the series that we have, it's daily, it's called Waking Up with Bean. Bean is our orange cat and he's the chatty guy.

He loves to meow. I stumbled into this by accident, like I said, because every time I opened the door in the morning, he would just be yelling, right? And actually it was my husband who was the one who said, you should film that and then add subtitles. What is he saying? And that's how it started.

And so every day, it's like a little soap opera or something. I have to record Bean before he gets his breakfast and he's meowing. And then the editing comes in and I give him some subtitles, create a story.

What's his body language saying? What's his tone saying? Is he happy? Is he sad? What's going on in the world? Like right now, it's like October and Halloween season. So we have a lot talking about that. Christmas, there's Beanmas, we call this Halloween.

It's like, we bring in what's going on in the world at the same time every morning, just to keep it fresh, right? Because going on close to seven years now, the same living room, the same hallway, the same cat, like it looks the same. It kind of sounds the same. So how do you make it different? And here we are still somehow doing it.

That's definitely a challenge. So without getting too political, because we don't wanna do that, but election time is coming up. Will Bean have something to say about that? Besides maybe go vote? Yeah, I mean, Bean's Canadian.

I should also mention that. So yeah, he sometimes chimes in, but he never really goes and says his piece because I try to keep it a very neutral space because that's the best part about the animals. We don't have to go into that, but he does, yeah, he gives out PSAs a lot.

He gives some good advice. Sometimes he's a therapist. Sometimes he's a chef.

He's an expert at everything. So yeah, he'd probably tell people to go vote for sure. Okay, well, it's always good to keep top of mind.

Go vote. So let's talk about cats. Well, let's talk a little about Lily.

What's her personality like? Bean's the talker. Is Lily the poser? She's the poser. She's so beautiful.

She's light as a feather. You might not know that because she's so fluffy and she kind of looks like she's the same size as Bean, but he's a bowling ball. And she is just so elegant, dainty.

She's quiet, but she's fierce. She'll throw a punch. She's in charge.

She's in charge of the house and Bean has to stay in his lane. And yeah, she's just honestly the best. I love her so much.

And I think that's when people meet her in real life, if they also watch the videos, they are so surprised how sweet she is because her character in the videos is more so, you know, like she's unimpressed, like doesn't care about anything, like doesn't want to be here, but she is. And it's been extra special to see how she is with my daughter. She is honestly, I would say, she's the biological mother of my daughter and I'm the step-mom.

Like she is so nurturing and loving and it's the best. I love it. Oh, that's always good to hear.

So let's talk about, well, cats. Cats are not known for taking direction. So how much of your content would you say is carefully planned and how much of it is, what is, you know, what is Bean and Lily decided to do today? It is a free-for-all every morning.

I get what I get and I have to work with it. It's not really, I can add props and things like that to, you know, set a scene or we do have some stuffed animal characters that one is notably Dean, which is Bean's evil brother. Right now there's a skeleton named Bane, the Bane of Bean's existence.

So they come in and that part is a little bit controlled on my end to like make the story connect to that. But I don't know if Bean's gonna be meowing a lot, meowing nothing. I don't know if he'll bonk his head on the table, flop on the floor.

It's a surprise and then I have to work with that. So yeah, I'm not really planning anything. I do have a note in my phone with a bunch of like punchlines and one-liners and potential plots and things I could work with if I ever have writer's block on a morning.

But I wish I was more organized and structured and maybe I did have things pre-filmed and edited, but I do it the same day and wow, it's something. Yeah, I would say you're pretty organized and structured. You post every day with a small break when you gave birth.

I would say you're very organized and structured and cats are not easy to film. I've tried, they're not easy. When they're doing something cute, by the time you have your phone out, they're done.

And they're not easy to take pictures of either. Nope, no, they're not like dogs in that way for sure. But yeah, I figured it out.

I know how to work with them. If you added a third cat in or if I were to film someone else's cat, I don't know. It took a lot of time.

I'm seven years in, right? So I figured out the formula and I just go with that. I wanted to ask that because some of our listeners might say, oh, I could start this too and whatever. It looks easy, it is way more difficult.

Just way more difficult. One of my cats, Charlotte has a meow that sounds like she's saying hello. I can't even do an impression of it.

It just sounds like, hello, like a hello, like a hello, but a meow. I told my husband, I said, we should film that and put that on Cattitude or something. And yeah, by the time I get around to doing it and timing it, it's done.

And I have to wait for the next one that I'm not planning. So it's a lot harder than people think. I know.

So I do have some cameras set up around the house to help me capture those moments because I can't tell you how many times something so funny happens and I didn't have it. But yeah, everyone can relate to that for sure. I would say you should post it.

You never know what will happen. Anyone, especially these animals, they're so funny and entertaining. You never know what would happen if you were to post it.

That is true. That is true. They are funny and they do come up with some crazy things.

I think the comedian in my group is Dennis, but we're gonna take a short break and we'll be right back and talk about one of the most amazing things that happened to you in 2026. We'll be right back. Welcome back, everyone.

We're talking to Cassidy Howard. She is the creator, the OG cat content creator of at Beauty and the Bean. So I wanna tell you congrats because Beauty and the Bean won a 2026 Webby Award in the pet category.

This is wonderful. What did the recognition mean to you, especially after doing what you're doing in the filming for seven years? If you were to tell me that or anything, like that's unfathomable. It feels amazing, of course.

It was never the reason I kept going. It just felt good. And the community is a massive reason why that happened.

And so that feels really good too. And I guess it's special because it is like my field of work and it's not necessarily, yeah, I don't know what to say, but I'm very, very happy about it. But like life moved on right after.

Bean doesn't know what happened. Do you know what I'm saying? So I have it on a shelf and he can look at it, but it's like working with a cat. I'm half the equation.

So I'm very, very happy about it. I think he would say, yeah, I deserve it. Like his character online, for sure.

He's like, yeah, of course. But the real Bean, he has no idea any of this is going on. And that's really special.

And I think it keeps me grounded because it's like, do you know what I'm trying to say? You said something really interesting that what keeps you going on, what does keep you going on? Because it's a dedication. I mean, very, like you said earlier, dedication, discipline. So what keeps you just going forward? I have to create content today rather than again today.

Oh, it's 100% the audience. They are the best. You can go in the comment section on any video and just see how invested everyone is.

They're adding their own jokes. I get inspired by it. It's like a thing of like, I don't wanna let them down if I take some time off.

And whenever I do and I say why, oh my gosh, they say take all the time you need, you're important. Like it's the best community ever. So that truly keeps me going.

And also at this point, it's just like a competitiveness thing like, I can't stop now. I think I will go as long as Bean will let us, right? He'll let us know if he's ever done. He got sick at one point in 2022, so about two years in.

And we didn't film then, of course. Like there are like moments where it doesn't happen and everyone knows, but yeah, I feel like it's just, this is like part of my identity now. And it's so funny because Bean is my first ever cat.

I'm allergic to cats. I used to be scared of cats. So I got him when I was 25 years old and I never touched a cat my whole life before that.

So I overcame, you know, there's a stigma with people who don't like cats and things like that. I didn't know anything cause I was scared of them. And look at me now, like, so in that sense.

I think that's great because it's secret. I was a dog person, not so secret. I talk about it too, but I started as a dog person.

I too, I'm allergic to cats. My first cat was Dennis who was abandoned and I heard him meowing outside and he just walked in, opened the door, walked in. And I had Mr. Zeus at the time, who's now in Doggy Rainbow Bridge Heaven or whatever.

He passed in 2020, so a long time ago. But I didn't know much about cats either. They teach you, you know? It's the best thing that's ever happened.

And Bean has a similar story because he was a stray cat at the gas station in our town. He was three months old, all dirty, had ear mites. And our friend found him and messaged cause they had a house full of animals and knew we didn't have any.

And I had just started a new job working from home. So I was like, well, this is like, let's give it a go. If I'm very allergic, we don't know what will happen and look at us now.

It's meant to be. You never know. Do you think the relationships that people have with pet creators, with content creators has changed from when you started in 2020? Oh, yes.

And I myself am a viewer and a fan of all the other cat accounts. You can find me in their comment section. So I can answer that for myself.

I love when other creators show cat products or home decor ideas that are cat friendly. So that's very nice to see and just all their entertaining posts too. So I would say the connection is stronger than the beginning.

And for myself with the community, it's a comfort and our lane is just being entertaining but the community and it's like an escape because I've just created a world, right? I wouldn't necessarily call myself like an education cat account or anything like that but I love to watch those. So I would say the relationship has changed for myself but also for everyone, because at the beginning at least when I started it was just like silly little cat videos. And then even when the internet or remember when YouTube was created, I think it was 2007 or something, like the most viral or the most watched videos were cat videos.

Like they're known for that. And it's just so special that I'm a part of this now. You know what, in listening to you where my head goes is this can turn more people into cat lovers, right? Create more adoption moments, possibilities and how many cats can be saved.

So I have such an affinity with TNR but from what I've been hearing and everything you're doing this opens people's minds up to cats. So you probably have most of your audience is probably cat lovers or people that love comedy or wanna love cats, but they might consider adopting. Yes, I have so many people have said they were the same as me and they didn't like cats but the first cat that they liked was bean and then they considered getting their own bean.

Oh my gosh, it's so true. And then I should also mention Lily is also a stray. They found her pregnant and she had her litter and then we adopted her only, I don't know exactly four months after getting bean because I just became such a cat lover and it's just like, it's who I am now.

And so I want everyone else to love cats too. Like I can't believe 25 years of my life I had no connection to cats. And it's like, what would my life have been? But so I'm so happy that my daughter is born into the world with these two cats as her childhood cats.

But it's what you're saying is so true. I love to talk about rescuing and all that because it's part of our story. And I love it when people say like bean made me like cats because I thought all cats hissed.

I all thought all cats, whatever scratched you. It's like, that's what I thought too. But no, I didn't even know cats purred or needed.

Like it was so special that whole experience. Those were the offline years because I got bean and Lily in 2017 and I only started posting in 2020. So there's three years that were offline, but I did because of the nature of my job, have lots of photos and videos.

So when I did first start posting in 2020, I was like going back into those videos to try to like figure out what would work. And then I ended up saying, okay, well, I'm gonna have to film something every morning, fresh and edit it. Do you ever today have like flashbacks? Like, oh, this is a flashback of when bean was, a little dude.

Oh my gosh, all the time, for sure. Do you mean like in my camera roll that pops up the notification? Oh yeah, I should look it up right now, but I feel like I have like 20,000 photos and videos in my camera roll. How many followers do you have? Oh, I mean, across all the platforms, we're on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

I think it's around 2 million. Wow. Across those, yeah, that's surreal, right? And it doesn't feel real to this day because I've never met any of them.

I've never been in an arena full of these, this number, right? Like I can go to the grocery store and nobody knows who I am. It is the cat account, right? I do show up sometimes and I'm showing up more and more. I think people like to see the contrast of like the human with the two cats, like that balance.

But I don't understand the number because I've never seen it with my eyes. Does that make sense? Yep, nope, that makes perfect sense. And it just gives a lot of accolades to what you're doing and your message and how positive it is and how much people enjoy watching, right? Because there are people that post every day and they don't have 2 million followers across the platforms.

So what you're doing works. And I love that you're bringing all this attention because your cats were both rescues and it just brings a lot of attention to cats and to getting more cats adopted, which is one of the big things that what Cattitude is all about. So let's talk about Bean and Lily because you kind of turn their personalities into a brand.

What have you learned about building a business around something that started just because you loved your cats and you wanted to started to film Bean every morning? Yeah, I learned, I just have to keep reminding myself. It is about them. They're my cats first, a business second.

And if a brand reaches out and it's not a fit but there's a big flashy price tag, it doesn't matter, you know what I mean? Like it has to always come back to the cats and it's never been about the business but it's become one and a brand, you know? But yeah, I was already a business owner as a videographer. So all the logistics and all that wasn't new at least. So it's just like an extension now.

And I feel like my audience would always know because they're with us every day, right? Only for like 24 seconds out of 24 hour day. Those are how long my videos are but they would know if something was off with the decision that we make, you know? Yes, because you're authentic. I tried, yeah.

That's what people want. They want authenticity. Of course.

I have one question about something a little bit different but what is your thought on cats that wear clothes? No judgment, some cats do. I got Dennis in a sweater once and he was like moonwalking but not Charlotte ever. Molly, no, never, never.

She would not tolerate that. Yeah, the Benin really don't like it either. And so I never force it.

It would be nice. Yeah, there's the whole no judgment thing for sure but I don't go that far. What I do, like I said, is I bring in props that are just like on a table or on the floor beside them to do that way.

But I can tell right away they're not comfortable. I've seen cats that are comfortable so I know it's probably okay. But yeah, I can't do that.

Yeah, I can't either. Like I said, once years ago, I got a sweater on Dennis but forget about it, but no judgment. Okay, let's talk about Bean.

He has a song out. How in the world did this happen? Right, well, like I said, Bean loves to collect little trophies and medals and he wants to be this and be that. Like he's very, very ambitious, the character, of course.

And I reached out to someone I went to high school with named Andrew Parmelee. He's a musician but also a music producer. So I said, hey, do you think you could take Bean's meows and turn it into a sound? I gave him full creative freedom.

We worked together a bit on the lyrics and his genre is like punk emo. So, and it worked with Bean and that's what it is. It's called I'm a Bean.

It's just a silly little song just to tick it off his list. Like I'm a musician now, he's an author now because he posted a chapter on Substack. He's always just, if you know Bean, you know.

He's a character, does Lily get jealous? No, Lily is in her own world. Lily wants nothing to do with Bean. Like she rolls her eyes.

She's fine to be out of the spotlight. How do you keep your sense of humor? Or do the cats do it for you because they're so silly? They do it for me. Like, oh my gosh, they are so good for my mental health.

And yeah, I don't ever know what I'm gonna get every morning and so it's fresh for me too. And then I have to get excited about working with the specific meows of the day. And that's how I keep my sense of humor is through Bean and Lily.

Okay, and then lastly, so after being an OG in the cat creator world, what are you most excited about for the next chapter of Beauty and the Bean? I'm hoping to eventually, I've said this for years, but I do want to pivot over to, not stop. I'm never gonna stop the short format, waking up with Bean videos, but I want to experiment with long form YouTube videos potentially to show more of our day. Cause this is a morning series, what happens in the afternoon and the evening, right? That's what I'm looking forward to and just still connecting with the community and lots of things down the road.

We just launched ringtones of Bean's meows and alarms. We have a calendar coming out and I can't wait to just keep challenging myself over and over doing the same thing every day, but making it different. And that's a challenge in itself.

I want to thank you so much for coming on Cattitude. This has been such a fun show. Where can our listeners find you? They can find us at Beauty and the Bean on social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, we're also on Substack.

Yeah, we'll be there every morning. I used to post at a specific time, but now with my daughter, later in the afternoon sometimes, I should get back on a schedule, but sometime in the morning on Eastern Standard Time. I was about to say, you said, get on schedule.

You're a mom with a toddler and a business. So I think it's okay whenever you post and I love your sense of humor. I want to thank you again for coming on Cattitude and sharing all this wonderful information about Beauty and the Bean.

And again, congrats on your Webby Award. Thank you so much for having me. I had a great time chatting with you too.

I hope everyone enjoyed this show. What a great show. And I want to thank Cassidy for coming on Cattitude.

She is the creator of At Beauty and the Bean. Beauty, the letter N, the Bean, At Beauty and the Bean. We'll have links to her social media platforms on the page on Pet Life Radio, Cattitude, go to the show and you will find the links to all of her sites.

Thank you again, Cassidy, for all you do and for coming on Cattitude. I want to thank my listening audience. Thank you for supporting Cattitude for all these years.

I appreciate you so much. You help us get the word out. I know we're making a difference and we're helping more cats go to their forever homes and bringing more joy to people's lives.

So thank you for your loyal listenership. Thanks to my cat crew, Dennis, Charlotte and Molly. You teach me about cats and make me a better person all the time.

And I appreciate that. And of course, thank you to my amazing producer, Mark Winter. You work your magic with my shows all the time and make it so much better for our listeners.

So thank you.  And remember, lose the attitude…. Have Cattitude!!