Cat expo in HK

The Hong Kong Cat Expo kicks off today. It will run for three consecutive days with around 400 vendors and more visitors expected than the long-time exhibitors have ever seen in previous years.

Hong Kong's cat industry continues to expand, bringing in more than six billion dollars annually.

An earlier survey conducted by Exhibition Group reveals cat ownership expenses in the city continue to climb, with the average monthly expenditure for owners exceeding 2,000 dollars, a record high and a 2.8% year-on-year increase.

CHARLIE: "Around 1,000 dollars (every month). Most I spend on cat food and health products.

ROBERT: "Not quite sure but it's probably on the higher end. I think it's quite a bit."

Moreover, there's been a rise of the silver cat economy, where post-pandemic cat age group of four to seven-year-olds rose significantly from 20.8% in 2024 to 28.2% this year.

As such, healthcare products for ageing cats has become a core driving force behind spending for pets.

One vendor is introducing traditional Chinese medicine for pets, specifically catering towards urinary and stress-related medication for felines.

Miss Wong: "We think we have a lot of problems when we have different kinds of diseases as human beings but pets don't have many choices so I think traditional Chinese medicine could be one of the chances to fix something they couldn't fix before."

While another vendor finds the silver cat economy has come about from more people being aware of how to care for their older cats.

CHRIS: "I'm quite happy with the amount of poeple coming. About 20-30% more. Cats live up to 15 years now and the senior starts from about 7 years old. It's always been the same but people are now more aware so in that sense there are more opportunities in the senior sector."

This year's expo features far more cat-related healthcare products than previous years as people become more conscious about caring for their middle-aged cats.