Pets with jobs: Dogs and cats earn money for treats at cafes in China

Pets are expensive

Pets can bring healing to your daily life. We are grateful to have someone by our side even when times are tough. However, owning a pet comes with responsibility and can be expensive.

Get a job Fido!

In times like these, it would be a great help to pet owners if their beloved dogs and cats could earn a living on their own. In fact, such efforts have been spreading recently in China. But where exactly are pets working, and how?

Working at dog and cat cafes

According to CNN, Chinese pets are "working" at cat and dog cafes to earn money for treats. However, it's not just the owners who benefit from this system. The pets also benefit.

It's also beneficial for pets

This is because instead of being left at home while their owners are out, their pets can pop in to the pet cafe and interact with other pets and visitors, keeping them from getting bored.

"It's like the feeling of a parent sending their child off to school."

One dog owner who uses this system to take his dog to pet cafes commented in an interview with CNN that he felt "like a parent sending their child to school."

Image: Kyodo News Images

There are also secondary benefits

In addition, if you leave your dog at home and go out, you have to keep the air conditioner or heating on all day, which can be surprisingly costly. However, if you send your dog to a pet cafe, you can save on these costs, which has secondary benefits.

Pet "treat money"

This initiative is known as "pet treat earning," and is said to be becoming a trend in China.

Various "employment types"

In addition, just like jobs for humans, there are various "employment types" available, such as full-time and part-time, depending on what works best for the animals and their owners.

Job hunting is not an easy task

However, job hunting for pets is not always easy. The working pet world is a buyer's market, and there are cases where pets have difficulty finding employment.

Owners must submit a "resume" for their pet

One cat owner who posted their cat's "resume" on social media told CNN, "I thought that if I posted it, the cat cafe owner would contact me. But it seems that in reality, I have to actively send out my cat's resume."

China has more pets than children

According to CNBC, the number of pets in urban areas in China is increasing, and is expected to reach nearly double the number of children under the age of four by 2030. In this situation, the trend of putting beloved dogs and cats to work in pet cafes will continue to attract more and more attention.

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