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Alice Yan

Cats rule the internet. They might also rule China, according to the results of a online survey published this week that found feline friends are more popular among young Chinese pet owners than their canine rivals.
The joint survey from DT Business Data Company and pet product brand Vetreska showed that among 1,392 respondents with pets, more than 70 per cent raised cats, the highest rate among all pet owners, reported Thepaper.cn, a mainland news portal.
Nearly 40 per cent of people canvassed have dogs, followed by 2.2 per cent raising hamsters, 1.3 per cent with rabbits and 0.9 per cent with tortoises, the report said.
The survey allowed for people to say they raised multiple kinds of pets.

The survey also provided data that corroborated that pet ownership is becoming more popular than ever before, with about 70 per cent of respondents saying they became new pet owners in the past four years.
The size of the pet market rose to nearly 300 billion yuan (US$47 billion) last year, up 19 per cent from the year before, the Beijing-based market consultancy firm iResearch said.
A majority of the people surveyed were born after 1980, including 35 per cent born after 1990.
Nearly all of the pet owners said having a pet has brought them “joy, companionship and has made their life more colourful”, according to the report.
The youngest respondents, born after 2000, said raising a pet provides another conversation topic with friends, and the older pet owners said it gave them a sense of achievement.

As for the owners, their “top activities” tended to be playing with their pets and spending money on them – such as buying them food, snacks, toys, clothes and accessories along with health-related purchases. They also said they spent time teaching themselves how to raise a pet.
About one-fifth of pet owners who make over 400,000 yuan (US$62,800) per year said they joined pet-related gatherings, such as parties. Fewer than 10 per cent of people who earn below 100,000 yuan (US$15,700) said they attended these kinds of activities.
A cat owner surnamed Shen said she met a new friend at a store, Thepaper.cn reported.
“She asked me to take a photo for her. After that, I sighed and said, ‘These products are so beautiful that I want to buy all of them’. She said she felt the same way,” Shen said, relaying the story of how they met.

The woman, who is in her early 20s and works in Shanghai, said they started to chat and later connected on WeChat.
“Now we send our cats’ pictures to each other every day and often share information about interesting cat products,” she said.
Fiona Bi, a Shanghai woman in her 40s, said she and her husband treat their pet dog, which they’ve raised for 10 years, as their daughter. The couple has no child.
“My Doudou (the dog’s nickname) is smart, and I think she is more clever than many human beings,” said Bi. “She is considerate and adorable. She is definitely a member of my family and I believe she knows that.”


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Pets

All hail our feline overlords: Cats prove way more popular than dogs in China

Most of the survey respondents were relatively young. Photo: Getty Images

The pet industry in China has boomed in the past decade. Photo: Getty Images

Unfortunately for dogs, they are simply not as popular as cats in China. Photo: Getty Images

Love of cats is even helping people make new friends. Photo: Getty Images

China’s pet photography boom sees owners paying hundreds of dollars to immortalise cat and dog fur babies in pictures

“If I fits, I sits.” Photo: Shutterstock

Handout pet dog images by Zhang Tianhang in China.CREDIT: Zhang Tianhang

[Shutterstock] A lazy fat cat is lying asleep on the sofa with a remote control from the TV Royalty-free stock photo ID: 1684723192

People in China will pay a high price to have their beloved pet immortalised in a professional portrait. Photo: Zhang Tianhang

Quirky China: pet nose prints, opium poppy cure for diarrhoea and a dangerous leg thinning operation

Pet nose print identification technology to track pets to prevent abandonment and a new surgery to remove certain nerves in legs for a slimmer look are some of the stories making news in China this week. Photo: Artwork

‘Pet mystery box’: China’s dog and cat mail-order craze causes new outrage

An animal rights group has rescued almost 160 cats and dogs from an illegal ‘pet mystery box’ operation that sells pets online as surprise gifts. Photo: Handout

Animal rights group rescues 160 cats and dogs from "pet mystery box" gimmick that sells pets online as surprise giftsCREDIT: baidu.com

Pet detective services grow in China as cat and dog ownership rises, and experience counts more than hi-tech tools, says a veteran of the business

As pet ownership rises in China, so too does demand for pet detectives. Photo: Getty Images

n this photo taken Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016, Russell Gipson Shearer displays on his phone how the Whistle pet tracker follows his dog Rocket in San Francisco. Technology isn't just for humans. It's also for their furry friends. In Silicon Valley and beyond, a growing number of "pet-tech" startups are selling devices to keep pets safe, healthy, entertained and connected when their owners are away. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Pet owner after losing his/her husky (in picture) for the umpteenth time on Sunday, posts a humorous lost notice imploring residents nearby to please take good care of the dog if they find it as it seems to prefer being a stray. 24JUL18. Source: thecover.cn

Animal rights in China: ‘pets by post’ scheme sparks outrage among advocacy groups

The practice of buying and selling pets online in China has upset animal rights groups. Photo: Sina

The emergence of online vendors in China selling "pets fukubukuro" inspired by Japanese "lucky bag" style marketing of common merchandise but instead involving living animals Ð has prompted concerns over animal rights and consumer protection.Pets for sale in these so-called "mystery boxes" often features kittens, puppies, tortoises, hamsters and rabbits, which vendors fetched from ten to nearly a thousand yuan apiece, according to reports by The Beijing News and Shanghai-based online news outlet Jiemian. Buyers could choose over the kind of pets, like cats or dogs, but would not know in advance which species they are buying, not to mention how they would look like. Photo: Sina

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People & Culture

Trending in China

Social Welfare


More than 70 per cent of pet owners in a recent survey said they owned cats
That compares to only 40 per cent who said they were raising dogs



Pet ownership is skyrocketing in China, and a recent survey suggests cats are significantly more popular in the country than dogs.


Animals

China society

All hail our feline overlords: Cats prove way more popular than dogs in China

More than 70 per cent of pet owners in a recent survey said they owned cats That compares to only 40 per cent who said they were raising dogs

More than 70 per cent of pet owners in a recent survey said they owned cats

That compares to only 40 per cent who said they were raising dogs