Meaning:
“云” means “cloud storage,” and “养猫” means to “keep a pet cat.” If you keep something on the cloud, it’s on a server away from your own computer. Chinese netizens coined this term to refer to the practice of cat lovers who do not own their own cats but closely follow the social media accounts of other pet owners as if the pets were their own. Sometimes they would send gifts, food or money to owners whose pets they love. Similarly there are dog lovers who “keep their dogs on the cloud.”
Example:
A: 你为什么买猫粮？我没见到你家有猫啊。
Nǐ wèishénme mǎi māoliáng？ Wǒ méi jiàndào nǐ jiā yǒu māo a。
Why are you buying cat food? I’ve never seen a cat in your apartment.
B: 我这是云养猫，猫粮要寄给我微信关注的猫咪。
Wǒ zhè shì yúnyǎngmāo, māoliáng yào jì gěi wǒ wēixìn guānzhù de māomī。
I am keeping a cat “on the cloud.” This is for the cat I follow on WeChat.
(First editor: Debra Li)