A 3-year-old male Dragon Li cat named Meiqiu is set to be auctioned in China on 3 Sept 2025 after its owner was unable to pay their debts.
Source: Epoch Times
According to Epoch Times, the Yangzhou Court in Jiangsu Province published an auction notice for the cat on the Alibaba website, with a starting price of RMB500 (S$89).
Meiqiu was previously owned by a limited company that is believed to have taken a loan of RMB 3.958 million (S$706,000) from a bank in 2017, CTWANT reported.
Due to an unsuccessful repayment, the court seized all of the company’s assets in 2022, including the cat, which is valued at about RMB 714 (S$127).
The court then placed Meiqiu in foster care at a pet shop, where it has been staying for over two years.
Source: Dajiang News
While the feline’s market value is relatively low, the cost of fostering it for two years has reportedly exceeded RMB 20,000 (S$3,570).
However, the court clarified that the winning bidder would not be required to pay this, as it had already been covered by the bank.
After news of the auction went viral, many netizens expressed concerns regarding the auction of pets, believing they should not be treated like ordinary property.
Some even formed a group and plan to care for the cat together if they win the bid.
Under China’s Civil Code, animals are personal movable property. Therefore, they can be seized and publicly auctioned, CTWANT reported.
Such auctions have been done in the past, including in 2021, when live crocodiles weighing a total of 100 tonnes were auctioned by a court in Shenzhen.
Also read: Perfectly round egg fetches S$340 at UK auction, proceeds aid mental health charity
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Featured image adapted from Epoch Times and Dajiang News.