Cat Addiction, How Cats “Dominate” and “Take Over” Many People’s Living Worlds
Cute and cute in appearance, "cold" and elegant in pace...when it comes to cats, many people naturally feel a sense of closeness and are willing to consider themselves as "cat slaves". Data from the "2020 Pet Industry White Paper" show that the number of cats in China's cities and towns exceeded 48.62 million in 2020, an increase of 10.2% from 44.12 million in 2019. At the same time, the number of pet dogs was 52.22 million, a decrease of 5.1% from 55.03 million in 2019. In recent years, the number of pet cats and cat owners has increased, which makes people lament the popularity of "cat sucking".
Why do "cats" have such great magic power? A common refrain is that cats require less time, money, and effort than other pets such as dogs. Cats are quiet animals that tend to be "cold". Many times you don't need to take care of them, and they can have fun on their own. Another analysis is that as a new force in the cat-raising community, urban youth work at a fast pace and are under great pressure in the workplace and survival. Cats have become a projection of self-emotions. For example, some analyzes have pointed out that contemporary young people, especially young people living alone working hard in foreign lands, have similar personalities to cats - they are homebound, afraid of trouble, introverted, and need companionship. Therefore, raising a cat and spending leisure time with it has become a kind of individual spiritual sustenance.
In fact, looking around our lives, it is not difficult to find that for many people, cats have the function of expressing themselves and socializing outwards. When you end a tiring day and sit on the sofa at home without knowing what to share, you can add a cat picture or a cat video to your circle of friends, and you will receive likes and comments, thereby gaining the satisfaction of socializing from a distance. And when you go shopping with your girlfriends, eat with friends, or chat with people you meet for the first time, talking about "cats" can quickly open up the topic, find resonance, and shorten the distance. In addition to relieving the stress of wandering and projecting spiritual sustenance, raising, petting, and chatting with cats is also a way to express oneself, warm up emotions, and smooth social interactions.
The above-mentioned phenomenon trends and life needs cannot escape the keen sense of business and capital from all walks of life. Driven by commercial factors, "cat economics" and "cat culture" are gradually emerging. From chat software, cat emoticons and animations in movies and TV series, to the "Cat Claw Cup" cultural creation that had been sold out before; from specialized pet stores and pet grooming shops to "tie-in" cat petting experience centers; from offline cat foster care to online "cloud cat raising"... new forms, new business formats, and new services derived from cats are constantly intensifying and reshaping people's "cat sucking addiction." For the majority of "cat lovers", even if they lose weight in their wallets for cats, they still have to buy their own inner happiness and freedom.
“Addicted to cat sucking, raising cats ‘leads to poverty’”. The seemingly contradictory and detached relationship just gave everyone the motivation to achieve self-satisfaction and "resurrection with full blood". Cats are full of mystery and seem to possess some kind of mysterious power. It makes people indulge in it at a glance and accompany it without fear of the fatigue or hardships of life.
This is exactly what it is: raising cats has become a fashion, and there are many reasons. Don’t be addicted to cat sucking, the happiness is worth it.
