What the Coffee Cat Cafe Abuse Case Means for Coffee Culture

A customer at a cat cafe in Shenyang, China, abused cats in a private room, killing four two-month-old golden shaded kittens and leaving two others severely injured. The owner reported the incident to police, closed the shop for rectification, removed independent private rooms, and announced plans for surveillance without blind spots. The case has drawn wide public discussion about cat cafe operations and animal protection.

Staff did not check the private-room camera in time on a busy Sunday, discovering the abuse about half an hour later. Another local cat cafe owner said the same person had shown similar behavior at a different store the day before. The incident has added to coffee culture debates about how cat cafes supervise animal contact and whether private rooms can be run responsibly.

Recently, a shocking incident of customer animal abuse occurred in a cat café in Shenyang, Liaoning, where a customer abused cats in a private room, resulting in the deaths of 4 two-month-old golden shaded kittens and 2 others severely injured and fighting for their lives. The customer involved actually justified their actions by saying they were "in a bad mood." The shop owner has reported the incident to the police, announced closure for rectification, removal of independent private rooms, and installation of surveillance with no blind spots. Another local cat café owner pointed out that the person involved appears to be a repeat offender, having exhibited similar behavior at another store the day before the incident. The event has sparked widespread societal discussion on the business model of cat cafés and animal protection.

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At noon today, multiple media outlets including Lizhi News reported that a customer abused cats in a cat café in Shenyang, Liaoning. Related hashtags once trended on social media, drawing attention and discussion from all sectors.

According to the cat café owner, recently a customer booked a private room at the store. After the staff explained the precautions for interacting with cats, they left the customer alone in the room to protect their privacy. However, the manager, who was out of town, checked the room's surveillance and noticed abnormal behavior by the customer. They immediately instructed staff to stop the behavior, fully refunded the fee, and asked the customer to leave.

The owner explained that although the store provides customers with space to interact with cats alone, under normal circumstances, staff would check the private room surveillance every 10 minutes to observe the interaction between customers and cats. But since the incident occurred on a Sunday when the store was busy, the staff did not check the surveillance in time and only discovered the abnormality in the room half an hour later.

After the customer was asked to leave, the store carefully reviewed the surveillance footage and found that the customer had, without staff permission, opened the cat cage, taken out the kittens, and subjected them to violent beating, throwing, and other abnormal behaviors. Upon checking the cats, staff found that several abused cats had bleeding noses and tongues, with 4 kittens dying from the abuse and 2 others severely injured and under rescue.

The store manager immediately called the police, and local officers brought the customer back to the store to understand the situation. Shockingly, when questioned by the police about the cat abuse, the customer responded, "I wasn't in a good mood today either, and that might have led to a series of actions causing me to abuse the cats." The owner revealed that after a brief statement was taken, the police let the person leave.

The young kittens, barely born, suffered violent abuse, leaving the cat café manager heartbroken and deeply regretful for offering the private room cat interaction service and failing to check the surveillance in time. They stated that the 4 dead kittens were 2-month-old golden shaded breed, each worth over 4,000 yuan; as for the 2 severely injured cats under rescue, medical costs have already exceeded 10,000 yuan.

In addition to causing financial losses to the store, the manager said that multiple cats in the store showed stress reactions, and employees suffered psychological harm. The store has now closed for rectification. The owner stated that they will remove independent private rooms, install surveillance with no blind spots, and arrange for staff to accompany customers throughout their visit to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

(Image provided by the interviewee)

It is worth mentioning that, according to Jimu News, another cat café owner in Shenyang claimed that the person in the video appears to be a repeat offender, having exhibited similar cat abuse behavior at their store the day before the incident. Staff noticed the abnormal behavior and quickly intervened, asking the person to leave.

Regarding this incident, the owner said that since the person caused financial losses to the cat café, the police suggested suing the person for "damaging others' property." The manager also emphasized that they will hold the person accountable and seek justice for the innocent lives lost.

Image source: Internet

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