Love of Cats Creates Big Business

Many people love cats, especially when they're on the internet. Millions of pictures and videos of cute kitties and China is no exception.

Duanwu, a Weibo Scottish fold cat, together with its buddy, a Samoyed, have made their owner rich. The owner charges more than 20,000 yuan ($3,168) for a 140-word Weibo ad, according to a Tencent Research Institute report.

It is just the tip of the iceberg of the mass obsession regarding cats and the cat-related economy, which also includes breeding, medical care, hospitality, foods, toys and cafes.

Compared to dogs, cats are comparatively less dependent on their owners, and are growingly popular among the city's young workers.

According to VC SaaS, a service platform for venture capital, funding and investment, dogs are still the first choice among Chinese pet lovers, accounting for 57 percent of urban pets, while cats are the second, accounting for 21 percent. But in recent years, the cost of raising cats has surpassed dogs and reached 500 yuan a month, VC SaaS observed.

Not everyone can have the luxury of owning a cat. Chinese netizens have developed a new mechanism－"cloud petting"－which started as a joke when catless people began following daily updates about other people's cats and interacted with their owners as if they had cats, too.

Source: China Daily

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