CHINA: In a surprising twist on the traditional workday, a 2-year-old Samoyed dog named OK has started her first job at a dog café in Fuzhou, China.
Her human parent, a 27-year-old PhD student, Jane Xue, likened the experience to sending a child off to school, telling CNN that she wanted her dog to “experience a different life.”
The trend, known as “Zhengmaotiaoqian” or “earn snack money,” is gaining popularity in China, where pet cafés are booming.
These cafés allow visitors to interact with the animals but charge an entrance fee or require customers to make a purchase, such as a cup of coffee, at least.
For pet parents like Xue, it’s a win-win situation; their pets get to socialize and play while the human parents save on expenses like air-conditioning.
Xue’s decision to send OK to the café reflects a growing trend in China, where pets are increasingly treated as family members.
According to Goldman Sachs, China is expected to have more pets than toddlers by the end of the year.
Job openings for cats and dogs
Café owners and pet parents are actively seeking each other out on Xiaohongshu, China’s version of Instagram.
Posts advertising job openings for cats and dogs have gone viral, with some pet parents even posting their pets’ CVs in hopes of landing them a part-time or full-time job at a cat or dog café.
One cat café owner jokingly shared the “salary” of one of their feline employees, a grey and white cat named Datou, who received five cans of cat food “after taxes.”
Another café owner posted a job ad seeking healthy, good-tempered cats, offering a daily snack and a discount for the pet owner’s friends.
Xue discovered the trend on Xiaohongshu and reached out to a café owner in Fuzhou, grooming OK for a job interview.
The café owner observed OK for an hour to assess her interaction with customers and other dogs, leading to her successful hire.
Not all pets are as fortunate as OK. Xin Xin, a 33-year-old teacher in Beijing, has been trying to find a job for her 2-year-old tuxedo cat, Zhang Bu’er, without success.
Despite posting her cat’s CV on Xiaohongshu, she hasn’t received any offers.
Xin hopes a job will help Zhang Bu’er burn off energy and alleviate some of the boredom he experiences during the day.
She spends about 500 yuan ($71) per month on cat food and sees employment as a way for her cat to earn his keep.
The first cat café in China opened in Guangzhou in 2011, and the industry has since exploded, with the number of cat cafe-related companies growing by 200% annually.
As of 2023, there were more than 4,000 such establishments in the country, indicating the strong demand for pet-related experiences.