I'm hearing word from Hong Kong that Brother Cream the cat has unfortunately passed away. Instagram looks to confirm it. Cream is HK's most famous cat. One of Asia's most famous! Here's why...

Cream spent most of his life sleeping at his owners store in Tsim Sha Tsui. A pretty normal store cat life. Sleeping away the day in the hk heat.
That all changed in 2012. Cream was kidnapped...

Perhaps lost but less likely. No one really knows. No ransom was asked. But people turned to fb, the internet to try find him. He was in HK newspapers...

Then 26 days later he was found in an alley, assumed released by his captors. Fine but 1.4 kilos lighter...

From that point on he was a household name. He became a brand ambassador. When I visited HK in 2013 I saw a cat gracing all the advertising at HK Airport. I had no idea that the next day, the cat at the newspaper stand opposite my hotel, was that very same cat...

No idea that I was in the company of a celebrity. Here's what some scenes looked like at the height of his fame (not when I saw him, he was just chilling care free)...

In addition to his brand work he also started the Cream Brother Foundation to support animals in need...

In 2016 his owner closed the newspaper stand where Cream lived. People were sad they wouldn't be able to see their beloved cat anymore. His future was uncertain...

That was until his owner opened a dedicated Brother Cream store just south of Mong Kok a couple of years ago. Merchandise for sale but more importantly you could meet Cream and his siblings. I did again in 2018 this time fully aware of who I was in the presence of!

Even in retirement he lived a pretty awesome cat life I reckon. Adored by fans on Insty, chilling away the days in his store. RIP little guy #brothercream #creambrother