As if we haven’t heard enough about the rising cost of living, some entrepreneurial pet owners in China have been getting their furkids to earn their own keep by working at cat or dog cafes.
The light-hearted but growing trend, known as “zheng mao tian qian” in Chinese, translates to “earn snack money” where like humans, these pets go out to work during day and come back at night.
We wonder if this will work in Singapore, especially since we know of pet owners who pay hundreds of dollars a month on daycare.
Why not our furkids be paid to saunter around a pet café instead?
It seems this trend is looking to stay, especially with Goldman Sachs projecting that China is set to have more pets than toddlers by the end of this year.
“Salary” packages vary. One hilarious post from a café touts a ‘cat employee’ who went home with five cans of cat food… after taxes.
“We’re looking for healthy, good-tempered cats,” wrote the café owner who added that they offer “a snack per day, and 30 per cent discount for pet owner’s friends”.
In an interview with CNN, 27-year-old PhD student Jane Xue said she managed to score a part-time job for OK, her two-year-old Samoyed, at a dog café in Fuzhou.
She said she wanted OK to “experience a different life” as she and her partner are usually out on weekends.
“It’s like sending your child to school,” said Jane. OK is now “the star of the café” and gets to play with other dogs while she saves on air conditioning costs during the brutal summer heat.
It is not known how much OK earns for his hours at the café.
The popularity of such arrangements is set to go up though not every furkid has been lucky enough to be hired.
Beijing-based teacher Xin Xin, who owns two cats and a dog, told CNN that she thought cat café owners would be reaching out to her about her cat Zhang Bu Er.
“Now it looks like I need to take the initiative and send his resume out,” said the 27-year-old.
“I think Zhang Bu’er gets too bored during the day,” she said, and “a job would help burn off some energy”.
Considering China registered more than 4,000 cat café-related companies in 2023, we hope Bu’er will get a response in no time.
Hey, no one said job hunting would be easy. Even if you’re a super cute cat.