Hong Kong Shop Cats
The pleasure of stumbling upon a Hong Kong shop cat depends on being in areas of the city where small family businesses predominate. A chain store of any kind is unlikely to allow the presence of a pet. Such stores need to maintain a uniform look and experience; customers need to know what to expect when they step into a Japan Home Centre or a Sasa cosmetics branch. But for the owner of a small dried-seafood shop or a clothing shop, a more personable and individual atmosphere is preferable. And nothing beats a cat in immediately stamping your place with personality and luring potential customers in.
Sometimes the cat might be sunning itself outside, declaring its presence to one and all. Sometimes you just have to keep an eye out for a furry creature sleeping hidden on a shelf or camouflaged on a pile of goods.
It’s a good way to practice your skills of observation, to look for the unusual amidst the ordinary. There is nothing like a cute shop cat to slow you down and maybe even derail you from your best made plans. Yes, your friend is waiting for you at a café for lunch. But there is a cat before you demanding belly rubs and an indulgent shop owner telling you anecdotes about her mischievous feline. The cat always wins and, even if I have to sheepishly apologise for being late for my appointment, my day has been made.
There are shop cats all over Hong Kong, so do keep your eyes peeled whenever you pass an area with a high proportion of small businesses that serve local residents. I know from personal experience that Queen’s Road West in Sheung Wan is full of stores with cats (most of the photos in my photo essay were taken as I walked along this road). Look out for the shops selling dried seafood, Chinese medicinal herbs, and funeral paper goods. A few of the small stores that line First, Second, and Third Streets in Sai Ying Pun are also good hunting grounds for shop cats. Be warned, though: you might not spot any felines at all. They can be temperamental and they have a will of their own. Sometimes they do not wish to reveal themselves.
This is what makes finding one such a pleasure: it is never a given, and when you do find one, it feels like you have been chosen by the gods for a special treat.
Further Research:
If you need more HK shop cats in your life, you can follow @sheungwancats on X for updates. On Instagram, check out @streetcats.shopcats for Kowloon and New Territories shop cats. Photographer Marcel Heijnen, who has published a photo book, Shop Cats of Hong Kong, also has a superb Instagram account filled with his feline finds. Search for @chinesewhiskers.
