Move over, Easter bunny: cats are the stars in Hong Kong this holiday

‘A Moment to Purr’, a giant interactive cat art installation, is located at the arrivals hall of Terminal 1 at Hong Kong International Airport.

Photo: Eugene Lee From giant cat installations to murals, Hong Kong’s Easter holiday has seen a surge in feline presence over the traditional rabbit.

Stealing the limelight were a gigantic ginger cat greeting travellers at the arrival hall of Hong Kong International Airport and three inflatable marmalade felines sprawled on a lawn at the West Kowloon Cultural District.

In Yau Ma Tei, local artist German Li and his students produced cat-themed murals by reinterpreting Vincent van Gogh’s classic painting The Starry Night.

At Silvermine Bay Hotel in Mui Wo, a one-floor-tall mural featured a three-dimensional cat sleeping and showing its belly.

Almost all of these cat installations and murals appeared in the past few days.

At the airport’s arrival hall, scores of people took selfies and pictures of the giant cat – measuring eight metres long, seven metres wide and 3.5 metres tall – with its moving ears and tail.

One traveller shared her excitement online, saying she felt “totally recharged” the moment she saw the installation after an exhausting long-haul flight, even while queuing up with her children to play with the interactive screen. “I hope this encourages all you adults who want to play but are too scared of being judged.

Playing with cats has no age limit,” she said.

Another social media user also shared a photo of her own British Shorthair sitting on a trolley, posing for a “meet-and-greet” with the giant installation.

Mural Meow Mission, by German Li and his students, is a tribute to Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting The Starry Night.

Photo: Dickson Lee Asked why a cat was chosen instead of a bunny, an airport authority spokesman said: “Early April marks both Easter and Children’s Day, making it a peak season for family holidays and study tours. “Since animals are a universal language, the airport is using giant animal installations to bring festive surprises to travellers for the first time.” Clinical psychologist Amos Cheung Chuen-yih said that choosing a cat reflected one’s lifestyle and “psychological bandwidth”, noting that while dogs were affectionate, their high-energy demands might become a stressor for overworked Hongkongers. “It’s just that we gravitate towards a species that matches our current pacing in life.

Cats are mostly seen more at ease with their own living rhythm and preferenc

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