On October 30th, netizens claimed that a restaurant named “Xiaji Private Kitchen” in Jiujiang Town, Nanhai District, Foshan, slaughtered live cats and prepared a dish called “Dragon Tiger Phoenix” (Dragon referring to snake, tiger to cat, and phoenix to chicken, a dish made of snake meat, cat meat, and chicken meat), sparking controversy.
Screenshots provided by netizens showed that on that day, the restaurant named “Xiaji Private Kitchen” posted on their Moments saying, “Meow meow meow delivered! This weather is perfect for making Dragon Tiger Phoenix,” accompanied by pictures of multiple live cats locked in cages, one of which was a white cat with different-colored eyes being brought to the slaughter table in the kitchen.
On October 31st, a volunteer who had visited the restaurant shared a video showing no trace of live cats in the kitchen of the private kitchen. The owner claimed there were no cats in the restaurant, only a few dogs raised at home. The volunteer questioned the fate of the cats in the pictures.
This incident immediately drew attention on social media.
Netizens said, “Daringly posting on Moments like this means that the local audience for this dish is significant. Just shutting down this restaurant won’t solve the root problem. There is continuous supply as long as there is demand.” “With so many legitimate, delicious, and inspected meat options available, why eat this? Put aside everything else and consider your health.”
“Cats and dogs are not livestock, so what you eat at your table is meat that has not been quarantined, with unknown sources, most likely from sick stray animals.” “Every time there’s news about cats being transported to Guangdong and Guangxi, it’s just to feed these restaurants and street vendors.” “This has been an industry chain for how many years. Watch the documentary ‘Three Flowers’ to understand.”
Netizen “1991AG7” posted related videos on Weibo, saying, “A woman exposed a video that made me physically sick, showing a large number of cat organs and bodies. The cats trapped in cages were of different breeds, many of them clearly pet cats being stolen by cat dealers for slaughter. It’s truly insane for the sake of making money. Cat owners cannot bear to watch this.”
According to a report by Red Star News on November 1st, the restaurant has now shown as “closed for business” on food delivery platforms. Journalists tried to contact the private kitchen multiple times but were unable to reach them. In the restaurant’s review section, a user named “Xiaji Private Kitchen (business)” responded to netizens’ doubts, claiming, “There’s a misunderstanding. These are cats raised by a friend. We just helped with processing.”
On the afternoon of October 31st, reporters from the media contacted multiple departments including the Foshan Market Supervision Bureau and the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau. A staff member from the Market Supervision Bureau of Nanhai District, Foshan, mentioned that they had received complaints, and relevant departments were following up, with the local Jiujiang Town involved in the investigation. An employee from the Promotion, Sports, Tourism, and Education Office of Jiujiang Town stated that they had taken notice of the matter, and multiple departments were conducting a joint investigation.