Southern Charm‘s Austen Kroll became a first-time cat dad in June 2025 when he adopted kittens Piper and Martini.
Austen partnered with Bissell’s new pet care line.
The reality star shares the cat-parenting tips he’s learned while raising his “fur children.”
Bravo fans know Austen Kroll as a cast member on Southern Charm. But when he’s not filming the hit reality TV show, he’s busy being a first-time cat dad.
In June 2025, Austen introduced his Instagram followers to his new kittens, Piper and Martini. He adopted them as a birthday present to himself and has been adamant about documenting their life together. Part of that means caring for and cleaning up after them, so it makes sense that he partnered with Bissell for the brand’s latest line of pet products. Ahead of the launch, Good Housekeeping caught up with Austen to chat about pet ownership.
A new reality
As Austen told us exclusively, his cat-dad responsibilities start first thing in the morning.
“My mornings look like me getting woken up at around 6:30 a.m.,” he laughs over Zoom. “One of them is always meowing at my door, and once they eat, they just lounge and go about their day. It’s so funny to me, because once they wake you up, you do too! But then they’re like, ‘No, we’re gonna go back to sleep,’ and then I don’t know what to do with myself!”
Austen Kroll at the Bissell Cat Café event in New York City on May 19, 2026.
But that’s not the only thing Austen’s learned about being a cat dad. He loves the fact that he’s not the only one living in his house—and he enjoys coming home to Piper and Martini.
“Let me tell you—whenever I’m at dinner or I’m filming, I can’t wait to get home,” he says. “I just love hanging with my cats—which some people think is a red flag! But it’s one of those things that while I know they’re not kids, they feel like they are! I’m constantly thinking of Piper and Martini when I’m not with them, and I love knowing I try to make them happy.”
We also asked Austen how he ensures he’s prepared as a pet parent. Here are his three best tips.
Learn which products are essential for your pet
“When I first went to the pet store—I think it was on camera, actually—I bought all of these things I thought my cats would need. But they rarely used the things I had bought, and I got overwhelmed that they didn’t like what I had given them. I eventually learned that as long as I had food, water, and a litter box, everything became so much easier.”
To do that, he loves Bissell’s new automatic water fountain and self-cleaning litter box.
BISSELL HydrateWell Automatic Water Fountain
BISSELL CleanWell Self Cleaning Litter Box
You don’t have to buy your pet supplies at a pet store
“Before I had cats, I didn’t know that you could buy their supplies on Amazon. But I guess I shouldn’t be too shocked about that, because everything is on there. I like to buy cat litter on there, and you can order your pets’ toys.”
There’s a surprise bonus, too: “If an Amazon box could be Piper and Martini’s favorite toy, then so be it. I once ordered something, left the box on my kitchen table for a week, and Piper lived in that box. When I finally took out the things in there, cat hair was everywhere!”
Take the pet-parenting lessons as they come
“My cats are like my fur children, and I had to figure out how to keep them alive,” he says. “It’s taught me a lot about responsibility, and I often talk about them as if they are my children. It shows that I care about something other than myself, and it’s nice to think that maybe having to be a pet parent helped with my maturity levels a bit.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.goodhousekeeping.com ’
