Net users' posts of real cats with a paw in a glass mug go viral on Sina Weibo, following the debut of Starbucks' limited edition mugs. (Screenshot photo of Sina Weibo)
Following the debut of Starbucks' cat-paw mugs, which caused fisticuffs among some overeager collectors the day they went on sale, cat owners and netizens are having fun creating images of real cat paws in a mug.
Cat owners are posting photos and videos of their cats with their paws in a glass cup, jokingly saying they've found an alternative to "Starbucks' overpriced mug."
The cause of the fuss is Starbucks' limited edition, clear-glass mugs with the inside shaped like a cat paw. Pour a colored liquid in the mug and a cat's paw reveals itself.
Scalpers have been selling the original mugs online for between 900 yuan ($134) and 1,400 yuan.
The mugs were originally sold at Starbucks shops and on its online platform for 199 yuan, which even at that price is perhaps 10 times more than an ordinary coffee mug.
Online photos of real cats with a paw in a mug have received hundreds of thousands of likes along with pithy comments from lovers and non-lovers of cats on Weibo.
"Cats have nine lives, which means I can make 36 mugs," said a cat-owning netizen. "I am going to raise a bunch of cats and get rich."
"I've prepared the glass, now where do I get the cat to make my own paw mug?" asked a Net user apparently considering adoption.
Liu Xi, a cat owner in Beijing told the Global Times that her two cats had broken four glass cups, all that she owned, when she tried to photograph her cats' paw in a mug on Tuesday.
