I. A RMB 312.6 Billion Market: Cats Becoming the “Traffic Code” of the Era

Latest industry statistics reveal a clear trend: cats have become the most populous companion pets in urban China.

In 2025, the total number of urban dogs and cats nationwide reached 126 million, among which pet cats accounted for 72.89 million and pet dogs 53.43 million. Since crossing the inflection point around 2020, the domestic cat raising population has steadily outnumbered dog owners and keeps growing year-on-year.

Behind the rising pet population lies substantial consumer spending. In 2025, the overall market size for urban dog and cat consumption hit RMB 312.6 billion. Cat-related consumption stood at RMB 152 billion, representing a 5.2% year-on-year growth, outpacing the 3.2% growth of dog-related consumption. Industry forecasts project the overall pet market will exceed RMB 405 billion by 2028, with cat-economy consumption reaching RMB 218.4 billion — at which point the cat-economy will officially surpass the dog-economy in market volume.

Annual spending per cat averages RMB 2,085, marking a 3.2% year-on-year increase. Segments including cat food, cat litter, veterinary care, grooming and pet toys are being reshaped by this population of furry companions.

Why cats? Against the backdrop of fast-paced urban lifestyles, cats require no daily walks, demand less living space and deliver quiet companionship. They fit perfectly into the lifestyles of office workers and renters, offering accessible yet heart-warming emotional comfort. The rise of the cat-economy essentially reflects surging demand for emotional companionship among modern-day consumers.

II. The Cat Litter Segment: Amid New Materials and Novel Concepts, Who Will Prevail?

Driven by the cat-economy boom, cat litter — an essential high-frequency consumable for cat owners — has turned into a fiercely contested market.

Within just a few years, cat litter has undergone multiple rounds of iteration: from conventional crushed bentonite litter to tofu litter and plant-fiber litter; from blended litter and activated-carbon deodorized litter to crystal litter, paper-based litter, wood litter and mineral litter. New materials and innovative concepts emerge every few months, accompanied by eye-catching marketing narratives that confuse consumers and overwhelm industry participants alike.

Market hype, however, does not equate to industrial maturity. In the test of time, sustainable winning products never rely merely on gimmicks.

Cats are highly sensitive animals with innate behavioural traits. Their natural instincts govern their preferences for litter texture, dust level, odour and clumping speed. Products aligned with feline instincts constitute genuine quality offerings. Viral internet-favoured products built on novel concepts and marketing-driven premium pricing tend to enjoy fleeting popularity before fading away.

At its core, cat litter is a recurring consumable. Buyers’ repurchase decisions hinge on pragmatic, hard-nosed criteria:

• Litter texture comfort: whether cats are willing to use the litter box
• Fast, firm clumping for easy and clean waste removal
• Low dust content to safeguard feline respiratory health and household sanitation
• Effective deodorisation, instead of odour-masking with heavy artificial fragrances
• Sustainable cost-performance for recurring monthly purchases

Fancy marketing concepts are filtered out against these practical benchmarks. Only products compatible with feline instincts, featuring solid cost-performance and superior user experience can achieve long-term market success.

III. Xingmei Technology: Quality-Driven Manufacturing Delivers Global Business Opportunities

Against cat-economy dividends and industrial reshuffling, Ningcheng Xingmei Technology Co., Ltd. presents its proven market approach.

In-house Ore Resources for Source-End Quality Control

Located in Ningcheng County, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia — reputed as “China’s Bentonite Hometown” — Xingmei Technology leverages local high-grade bentonite ore resources to build quality barriers at the raw-material stage. Positioned primarily for the mid-to-high-end market, the company’s core product lines comprise round-pellet litter and crushed-granule litter. Premium and stable raw-material supply lays a solid foundation for product performance.

Wet Sodium-Modification: Core Technology Transforming Calcium-Based Bentonite into Sodium-Based Bentonite

Performance gaps among bentonite cat litter largely stem from processing technology. Xingmei Technology has independently developed the wet sodium-modification process. By simulating the natural formation of sodium-based bentonite, this technology modifies calcium-based bentonite to substantially improve clumping speed, water absorption capacity and product stability. Widely recognised as a disruptive innovation within the bentonite cat-litter sector, this process guarantees consistent product performance across production batches regardless of raw-material fluctuations.

Translated into tangible experience for cats and pet owners, this means faster clumping, stronger water absorption, lower dust generation and texture close to natural sand — perfectly matching cats’ innate digging behaviour.

Full-Process Low-Dust Production Facility

Xingmei Technology’s fully operational low-dust automated bentonite cat-litter plant implements high-level automation and intelligence covering raw-material feeding through finished-product packaging:

• Approximately 390-metre underground belt conveyors enable fully enclosed underground transportation of raw materials and waste
• Dust collectors installed after every production procedure operate round-the-clock
• Dust rate is controlled at ≤0.1% from production to end-user delivery

Low-dust standards represent not only environmental compliance for manufacturing workshops but also protection for cats’ respiratory health and domestic living environments.

Equipped with 16 premium bentonite deep-processing production lines plus 26 auxiliary lines through intelligent automated upgrades, the company achieves an annual output of 200,000 tonnes of high-end bentonite cat litter.

Roughly 80% of Xingmei Technology’s cat-litter output is exported, mainly to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and other markets. Sustained market penetration and stable presence in these regions serve as compelling third-party validation of product quality.

As a leading local enterprise in Ningcheng’s cat-litter industry, Xingmei Technology actively participates in industry-standard formulation and industrial upgrading, setting quality benchmarks via robust manufacturing capabilities.

The cat-economy boom continues, yet market fanfare will eventually give way to industrial order.

Within this RMB 312.6 billion market, cat-litter success cannot be secured by marketing gimmicks alone. Cats do not respond to advertising campaigns; they react to litter texture, clumping performance and odour control. Pet owners are discerning buyers, whose consistent repurchases reward products that respect feline instincts, deliver reliable quality and demonstrate proven long-term value.

Xingmei Technology has chosen the challenging yet solid development path: from proprietary ore sources to proprietary wet sodium-modification technology. Rather than chasing short-lived market trends, the enterprise pursues manufacturing excellence for every bag of cat litter.

Quality underpins corporate standing, with robust manufacturing strength speaking for itself. In the second phase of the cat-economy, long-term winners will be enterprises that genuinely prioritise feline wellbeing and deliver value to customers.