Bye Bye Brother Cream!

My first encounter with Brother Cream in June 2014

Sad to see Brother Cream and his owner's convenience store in Tsim Sha Tsui East to go due to rising rents.

I managed to see the chubby British shorthair cat a few times in the last two years or so, and yesterday, the last day of the shop's operation, a number of fans came by to say goodbye.

However Brother Cream didn't seem to care about all the fuss, with so many visitors and media around that he lounged around napping for most of the day.

His owner sold Brother Cream merchandise as well as books

The demise of the shop is also a sign of the times, as the owner, Bee Ko Chee-shing said that even if he moved to another location, business would be difficult because fewer people are buying magazines and newspapers.

He tried to capitalize on the fame of the cat by producing two books, Brother Cream in East TST, and Cream Chicken Soup, along with public appearances and even an advertising contract with department store Wing On, and a statue of him at Times Square for Chinese New Year.

However these were not enough to keep the money rolling in, though Ko admits if it wasn't for those gigs, he would have closed shop two years ago.

Brother Cream shot to fame in 2012 when he was allegedly stolen and fans posted notices of him around the area. The media picked it up and the cat made front page news. He was apparently returned about 20 days later and by then had garnered lots of fans and even a Facebook page.

He even made a special appearance for Chinese New Year

In the meantime Ko will give Brother Cream a break and hopefully fans will be able to see the fluffy feline somewhere again soon.

Thanks Brother Cream, for hanging around. You brightened up many people's day, just for being you.

Picture of the Day: Brother Cream

Brother Cream is stretched out and lying comfortably for a snooze

Tonight some relatives and I had dinner in Tsim Sha Tsui East and finished quite late.

And when we emerged from the restaurant and walked a block towards the cross harbour bus stop, we saw two giant cats lying on top of some magazines and newspapers.

It was then that I found it the light brown and white one -- the much bigger one of the two -- was Brother Cream!

His full name is Tsim Tung Brother Cream or 尖東忌廉哥. He is a well-known male British Shorthair cat who lives at this convenience store and that it was the owner who posted pictures of him on a Facebook page that resulted in the feline's fast track to fame.

He seems unfazed by all the attention around him!

The media picked up on the fact that he had over 108,000 followers on Facebook last March, and as of this May had over 160,000 likes.

As a result people specifically flocked to the store to see the cat though there were no promises Brother Cream would show up or would be awake for visitors. These days there's several handwritten signs that say "Please Do Not touch the cat" and several minders nearby to watch him.

I didn't know he had a companion, a black and white cat, but anyway both were lying around while us fans gathered round and took pictures of them. They didn't seem to care about these human admirers.

But yes -- Brother Cream is one big cat!