A QUEUE of glamorous visitors stood outside Shanghai Museum twitching impatiently, tails flicking and whiskers quivering as they waited to be let in for the institution’s inaugural ancient Egypt cat night.
Feline tickets for Saturday night’s event sold out within days, as Shanghai’s devoted pet owners seized the chance to share an educational experience with their animals – and share the photos on the mostly pedigree cats’ personal social media accounts.
One pet owner postponed a trip to Europe to ensure she could nab one of the 200 available tickets for her regal ginger “son”.
Trump – named for his physical and psychological resemblance to the US presidential candidate – was dressed as a Chinese emperor, and blinked haughtily as journalists flocked around him.
“I cannot imagine my life without a cat,” his owner Amy said. “So I understand why Egyptians valued cats on such a level.”
The number of pets in China soared to over 120 million in 2023, with cats being the most popular.
The trend is being driven largely by younger generations, many of whom see their “furred kids” as a cheaper substitute for human children, experts say.
Shanghai Museum is capitalising on that interest – Saturday’s event, heralded as a first in China, is one of 10 planned cat nights.
As the guests of honour filed in, perched on shoulders or peering out of handbags, they had their vaccination and insurance records checked before being transferred to kitten-eared prams.
Cats were considered sacred in ancient Egypt, and associated in particular with Bast, a goddess of fertility, birth and protection.
Many of the cats at the exhibition had their own social media accounts. One or two appeared to have small teams helping to produce content. — AFP
