{
  "id": 1483585,
  "title": "One chubby cat led to 2.5 million Instagram followers and a whole new career for Sabah artist Olive Yong",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/one-chubby-cat-led-to-2-5-million-instagram-followers-and-a-whole-new",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-17T13:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2026/08/17/one-chubby-cat-led-to-25-million-instagram-followers-and-a-whole-new-career-for-sabah-artist-olive-yong/231698"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KOTA KINABALU, Aug 17 — Olive Yong, a Keningau-born artist, once thought her career in art had been predestined, but a chubby cat digital drawing changed her life. Olive, known for her character Bichi Mao, initially dreamt of becoming a piano teacher after learning music from her mother and studying at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris. However, a meeting with fellow university student Yap Wee Lim led her to digital drawing using an iPad and Procreate, which sparked her creative journey. Bichi Mao, the chubby cat, first gained traction on Instagram, amassing around 60,000 followers in just six months. Although the character's popularity grew, turning the digital sketch into a sustainable career was another story. Olive's breakthrough came when Yap and another creator, PrawnM33, introduced her to Comic Fiesta Malaysia in December 2019, where Bichi Mao became a merchandise item for the first time. The success of the book, merchandise, and event participation contributed to Olive's growing career, with Bichi Mao now boasting more than 2.5 million Instagram followers, and its GIFs garnering over one billion views. The brand has even produced 10 books translated into over 20 languages and exhibited in multiple countries, including the United States, Germany, China, Singapore, and Thailand.",
  "summary": "KOTA KINABALU, Aug 17 — Keningau-born artist Olive Yong once believed her future had already been mapped out, but...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}