Pets in this country are 'working' in cafes, earning snacks as salaries
One example is 27-year-old PhD student Jane Xue, who decided to send her two-year-old Samoyed, OK, to work at a dog cafe in Fuzhou. For Xue, it’s a win-win situation. “It’s just like sending a child to school,” she told CNN. «OK gets to play with other dogs and won’t feel lonely, and we save on the cost of running the air conditioning all day.» Xue and her partner, who are often out on weekends, found the cafe job a perfect way for OK to socialize.
How Pet Cafes Operate in China
This pet-working trend is popular in China’s booming pet cafe industry. These cafes charge visitors an entrance fee—typically between 30 to 60 yuan (approximately Rs 350 to Rs 700)—or sometimes, the price of a simple meal, for the chance to interact with these “pet employees.” It’s a business model that benefits both cafe owners and pet owners. Pet cafes in China have become increasingly common, and by 2023, over 4,000 such cafes were established across the country, according to state-linked CBNData.
The job postings for these pets are often lighthearted. In one instance, a cafe owner on Xiaohongshu, a social media platform similar to Instagram, advertised for «cat employees» and promised a snack a day and a 30% discount for the owners' friends. Another cafe owner humorously shared that one of their feline employees, Datou («big head»), received five cans of cat food «after taxes.»
However, not all pets land these part-time jobs easily. Xin Xin, a 33-year-old teacher from Beijing, has been trying to secure employment for her
