In March 2023, public video and reports showed a five-year-old boy in a cat cafe lifting a two-month-old kitten high and throwing her hard onto the floor. The kitten could not stand normally afterward and died that night. Reports also recorded adult supervision failures, blame-shifting afterward and management risks in using very young kittens for business interaction.

A kitten who should not have been working in a cafe

Public reports show several adults and a boy interacting with cats in a cat cafe. The scene appeared calm until the boy picked up a kitten, lifted her high and threw her to the floor.

The kitten was about two months old. Reports said she had already been unwell during weaning and diet change. Such a young animal should have been protected, not exposed to repeated handling by strangers.

After the fall, she never recovered

After being thrown down, the kitten tried but could not stand normally. Reports said the boy moved toward her again before an adult stopped him.

This was not a harmless accident. Lifting, raising and throwing a tiny animal crossed the line from childish ignorance into direct harm that ended a life.

Missing supervision and shifting responsibility

Reports said the accompanying adult did not stop the boy in time and did not immediately tell the owner after the kitten collapsed. The owner learned what happened only after hearing a cat cry and checking surveillance footage.

The reports also said the family tried to blame the kitten's illness or another girl who had taken the kitten out of the nest. A fragile body does not erase the seriousness of the throwing action.

The cat cafe also had a duty to protect

The act itself deserves clear criticism. At the same time, the cat cafe exposed a management failure: a two-month-old kitten is too fragile for open customer interaction.

Animals are not soft props for traffic. If a business allows kittens to interact with visitors, it must provide supervision, separation, age limits and emergency rules. Without them, the weakest animals bear the risk.

“He is only a child” cannot erase the failure of life education

When minors harm animals, anger should not become doxxing or revenge, and the child's identity should not be exposed. But “too young to know” cannot erase responsibility.

The questions are whether guardians stopped the act, whether the child was taught that animals feel pain and fear, whether the shop put animal safety before revenue, and whether society has made kindness to living beings a real bottom line.

Timeline

• Around March 2023: A cat-cafe video circulated online showing the boy lifting and throwing the kitten.
• After the incident: The owner checked surveillance footage and, according to reports, sought a symbolic payment before taking the kitten for care.
• That night: Reports said the kitten died.

Public Sources

• Ifeng Dafenghao: five-year-old boy killed a kitten in a cat cafe and struck an adult
• Ifeng H5 preserved version: five-year-old boy killed a kitten in a cat cafe
• Fujian Daily: review of minors harming animals and an education warning