Furry friends make their mark online

What do your pets get up to when you're not around? Eat? Sleep? Scratch your favourite armchair to ribbons? How about becoming a social media star and running hugely successful Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts? No? Then you should have a word with Rex and Whiskers - they need to up their game!
There are plenty of animals causing an online stir across the world right now with their videos, posts and tweets.
Don't believe us? Think we're mad? Then take a look at our favourite furry little tech-savvy critters...

8 - Sid Square-Eyes

Sid's a cat from Penge in South London. According to his Twitter feed he spends most of his days watching TV with his two 'humes' (hence the 'Square-Eyes') and getting annoyed by a pigeon that sits on his window ledge all day. This telly-addicted feline, when he's not tweeting his disdain for terrible daytime TV or love of Clare Balding, can be found on the TV app, Tvcheck. There he competes to be 'Check Champion' by answering questions about all his favourite shows and socialising with other TV lovers. And he also sleeps a lot (well, he is a cat...). We love him because there aren't many talking cats out there that share our love of TV - especially Clare Balding! Plus it's not every day you get to see into the mind of a feline. Even if he is a catnip-sniffing, pigeon-hating TV addict. His ability to tweet and play TVcheck on his phone without opposable thumbs is to be applauded, though...

Sid says things like: 'If Fat Boy is handing out free drinks, I'll have a Cinzano and Milk. Cheers, Fats.'

Find Sid on Twitter or view his blog

7- Sockington

You won't have failed to notice that the internet is absolutely chock-a-block full of cats. LOLcats, Keyboard Cats, cats with half a melon on their heads... It's cat heavy.  But not many  internet-famous felines can boast a whopping 1.5m followers on Twitter. The Caps Lock-loving Sockington lives in Massachusetts with his owner Jason Scott, has his own much-visited website, which he also updates, and boasts a loyal army of fans known as the 'Socks Army'. Reports that the American moggy has let the success go to his head and has developed a $1,000 a week catnip addiction have not yet been confirmed...

Sockington says things like: 'HOORAY IT IS SHOVE TUNA IN SOCKINGTON'S MOUTH DAY federally recognized holiday WHAT'S THAT darn you and your calendar MY PLAN WAS FOOLPROOF!'

Find Sockington on Twitter

6 - Boo

There's little wonder why this insanely cute little Pomeranian is so popular... Just look at him! Boo can attribute his massive popularity not only to being a tiny little fuzzy ball of fluffy cuteness who's so delightfully adorable it could make your head explode, but also to his celebrity pals and their endorsements. Stars like Ke$ha and Khloe Kardashian have tweeted and blogged about him, upping his profile pretty significantly. In fact, Boo is so popular on Facebook now that he boasts more than five million likes! He's taken his writing offline too, with his book, 'Boo: The Adventures of the Cutest Dog in the World' selling across the world in 10 languages. Good dog.

Boo says things like: 'If you smile big enough, no one notices that you're not wearing any clothes. (note: this truth does not apply to humans).'

Find Boo on Facebook

5 - Beast

It's not just Twitter that animals like to get their paw prints all over. Facebook's also got its fair share of four-legged users. Perhaps the most high profile at the moment being 'Beast', a cute little Hungarian Sheepdog with an absolutely killer fringe. But why is this fluffy little fella from California such a huge hit on the social network? Might it have something to do with his owner being a certain Mr. Mark Zuckerberg? Having the founder of Facebook as the one putting chow in your bowl certainly doesn't seem to hurt the number of 'likes' you get!

Beast says things like: 'A year ago today I got some new owners. They're pretty good I guess, but I kind of wish they had some sheep to herd.'

Find Beast on Facebook

4 - Aleksandr Orlov

The most famous meerkat in the world, you'll no doubt recognise Aleksandr from the TV ads where he reminds us all that he doesn't run a car insurance comparison website. But the Russian dressing-gown loving mammal isn't just a big deal on the gogglebox; he also reigns supreme on the internet. He has an impressive 800,00 Facebook likes and 50,000 Twitter followers and even has his website and wildly successful merchandise range. Put simply, Aleksandr is the Mayor of Meerkat Manor. Simples.

Aleksandr says things like: 'Today I solve maths problem which was 798 divide by 8,464. I solved it by burying maths book in the garden. Who else not like maths? '

Find Aleksandr on Twitter or Facebook

3 - Weird Horse

We all know that birds have always tweeted. But horses? Weird Horse doesn't let his cloven hooves stop him from being a hit on Twitter. His account reads like a frequently-updated journal of bizarre escapades and odd encounters with other animals on Weird Farm. So one moment he's giving a pig a Chinese burn, the next he's sharing a pizza with a slug. Weird by name, weird by nature, eh?! Still, tweeters seem to like him - he's currently got over 150,000 followers!

Weird Horse says things like: 'A shrimp just ate a full bag of crisps without offering me one. I thought that was a little shellfish!'

Find Weird Horse on Twitter

2 - Gus The Fox

When we think of foxes, what do we think of? Smooth-talking little furry chaps with twiddly moustaches, top hats and a monocle, right? Well, Gus the Fox does his utmost to prove that this cliché is entirely untrue. This urban orange brute is one of the most foul-mouthed - although extremely funny - omnivorous mammals that you'll ever find on social media (not that you'll find many). He's like an X-rated Weird Horse. He's hilarious. He's wrong. He's hilariously wrong.

Gus says things like: 'At the city farm watching Eamonn Holmes 'sanding down' a pig with a Black and DeckerKA300 Orbital Sander. He looks like he means business.'

Find Gus on Twitter

1 - Raccoon Willie

Most raccoons skulk about in the woods, waiting until it gets dark so they can sneak into people's gardens and eat the contents of their bins. Not so Racoon Willie. This stripy domesticated lil' fella spends his time uploading videos on YouTube, tweeting and posting on Facebook and Pinterest. He even has a LinkedIn profile! He's a self-promoting powerhouse too  whose never afraid to advertise himself...

Willie says things like: 'OMG...! New WILLIE T-Shirts at facebook.com/RaccoonWillie !!!'

Find Willie on Facebook, Twitter or Youtube