Tsim Tung Brother Cream
With more than 100,000 Facebook fans, seven-and-a-half-year-old British Shorthair Tsim Tung Brother Cream, or just Brother Cream, lives in a 24-hour convenience store in TST East. Owner of both the shop and the cat, Ko Chee-shing, tells Mark Yuen about having a Facebook celebrity as a pet.
HK Magazine: Is Brother Cream your first pet?
Ko Chee-shing: I had a Pekingese before but gave it away because dogs were not allowed in my place. I also had a cat called “Fei Meow.”
HK: How did you adopt Brother Cream?
KC: Someone gave me Brother Cream. When we got the cat [about six years ago], it was already so chubby, like you see now. We were surprised. About eight months after that someone gave me another cat, a Scottish Fold called “Miu Miu.” Now, both cats live at the store.
HK: When did you create the Facebook Page for the cat?
KC: I didn’t create the page, and I seldom used Facebook back then. The page was created by Brother Cream’s fans Koey and Momo in July 2011. They came and took photos of the cat regularly—their initial idea of establishing the Facebook page was to share the cat’s photos among their friends who don’t live in Tsim Sha Tsui. It wasn’t until late August 2012 that I spoke to page owners—they then made me one of the page moderators. Now, we frequently communicate with each other and have cooperated to make some Brother Cream products [such as postcards]. The products are very popular among Brother Cream’s fans.
HK: In your view, what makes your cat so popular?
KC: First and foremost, the cat has an attractive appearance. Also, we’re open to all sorts of people taking photos of the cats as long as they don’t disturb our daily work. I don’t really mind if they don’t buy anything in my shop.