Cream of the Crop

I spent my last few hours in Hong Kong looking for a cat.

Let me explain： this wasn’t any ordinary lost kitty. The hunt was on for Tsim Tung Brother Cream， a cream-and-brown British shorthair that can rightfully be called Hong Kong’s most famous cat.

The story begins when Brother Cream disappeared one night in July 2012. His owner， Ko Chee-shing， put out the word on social media that there might have been a cat-napper on the loose. The entire city was soon on the lookout for the missing cat， so much so that when the fugitive feline was found in a nearby alley 26 days later it made front-page headlines. The ordeal made Ko’s store C and more notably， Brother Cream himself C a bigtime Hong Kong celebrity.

Even now， Brother Cream （and his substantially less popular black-and-white Scottish Fold partner Mui Mui） receives more daily visitors than his owner can count. In an interview with HK Magazine， his owner credited his “attractive appearance” for Cream’s persistent fame. At the time of writing， Brother Cream had over 23，000 Instagram followers and 180，000 Facebook fans， not counting copycat profiles. These pages regularly feature photos of fuzzy Brother Cream sporting dapper bow ties or top hats， not to mention a good number of shots of him， well， just being a cat. Sickeningly cute comments on these social media accounts， such as one follower wishing him a “happy meow-day，” will be sure to melt your heart.

Brother Cream’s popularity level went from local curiosity to territorial mascot when he landed some big-name marketing opportunities. His image has been pasted on the sides of local buses and he’s been a guest on Hong Kong television shows. His furry face can be seen on his own-label handbags and stickers， and he has even landed two contracts to appear in advertisements for Canon and Wing On Travel， for which he （or， more precisely， his representation） was paid thousands of dollars. Indeed， the first time I had heard of Brother Cream， I was looking at a colossal three-meter poster of “Cream Bro，”as he is also known. This enterprising beastie has even put his paws to writing a book： a short tome featuring inspirational stories， essays and， of course， cute photos. The first edition sold out in only a couple of days. The release was mobbed by hundreds of fans aching for a glimpse of Brother Cream， where he was able to “autograph” a few copies： Brother Cream’s paws were scanned and the image converted into a stamp， allowing him to give“signatures” to his adoring public.

To his credit， Brother Cream’s owner uses his cat’s Internet fame for good. Ko donates a portion of all the proceeds made from his pet’s unexpected social status towards chari- ties that help stray cats and dogs. He also does his best to protect the cat’s well-being from aggressive pet paparazzi： There’s a “rest time”mid-afternoon where Brother Cream is not available for viewing， and he can hide in the back of the store whenever he wants. He’s also watched constantly to make sure unruly fans don’t poke and pester him.

I had no idea if I would be able to even catch a glimpse of such a valuable animal. I wandered around Cream’s neighborhood for hours， double-checking cross streets and ducking into convenience stores for directions. But suddenly， there he was： a cardboard cutout advertising a display of Brother Cream merchandise. Despite his astronomical success， he’s avoided the blatant commercialism of Internet celebrity Grumpy Cat， but there is a wide variety of jewelry， picture books and even cat food for sale.

And then， behind the rack for the nudie mags and candy bars， there he was！ Brother Cream， reclining serenely behind the cash register. I was star-struck. Grabbing a box of yuenyang， a Hong Kong tea-and-coffee mixture， I asked if I could take a few snapshotsC the owners didn’t mind. But imagine how difficult it is to take just one photo of that adorable face！ It’s shocking， honestly， that even with Brother Cream’s towering level of fame that I， a mere passerby， could walk up to give him a scratch behind the ears.

The store has certainly taken notice of the cat’s popularity： There’s an astonishing variety of Brother Cream goods for sale. A huge portion of this tiny corner store’s goods was dedicated to the little cat， with everything from postcards to my own Cream Bro C the stuffed animal version， of course.

As I left， the owner handed me the cat’s business card， and a paper invitation. The next week Brother Cream was having a big birthday blowout， with cake， a magician and plenty of adoring fans. An invite to a celebrity birthday party， for me？ I had to head back to Beijing， but at least I had seen China’s most famous feline in the flesh.