
They are quiet. They are alert. They are engaging. And they are Hong Kong's most popular shop assistants.

Cats are an ever-lasting symbol of the cramped and curious neighbourhood shops dotted around the international commercial city.

These fluffy creatures stare at the customers when they walk in, pace around them when they shop and meow at them when they pay.

Dau Ding (pictured), the pet of a traditional Chinese medicine store, is the first shop cat Marcel Heijnen has photographed

Many traditional businesses in Hong Kong, such as dried seafood shops and family-owned grocery shops, keep cats

Good companion: An adorable cat rests in a box as its owners weigh traditional Chinese medicine at a shop in Hong Kong

Dutch photographer Marcel Heijnen was impressed by the endearing bond between Hong Kong shop owners and their cats

Dutch photographer Marcel Heijnen is so drawn to the ubiquitous shop cats that he spent one year photographing the adorable pets and their owners in Hong Kong's traditional areas.

Through Mr Heijnen's lens, the modern skyscraper-filled city transforms into a kaleidoscope of traditional retailers. Chinese medicine shops, family-owned grocery shops and dried seafood vendors, the colourful pockets of century-old trades form the playground of these naughty felines.

Originally, shop cats appeared in Hong Kong because the owners wanted to use them to scare away mice.

Mr Heijnen said: 'They don't necessarily need to catch mice. Just their presence and their smell are enough to ward off mice.'

However, the 52-year-old Dutch man told MailOnline what struck him more was the bond between the shop owners and their moggies.

Drawn to the ubiquitous cats, Mr Heijnen spent one year photographing the adorable pets and their owners in Hong Kong

The shop cats tend to have similar expressions with their owners and strike near identical poses with them

Originally, these alert animals appeared in Hong Kong because the owners wanted to use them to scare away mice

Through Mr Heijnen's lens, the modern skyscraper-filled city transforms into a kaleidoscope of traditional retailers

Mr Heijnen said: 'They don't necessarily need to catch mice. Just their presence and their smell are enough to ward off mice'

Most of the owners have kept the animals for years. The cats accompany them day in day out, when there is business and when there is not.

In Mr Heijnen's pictures, many of the cats seem to have formed an endearing rapport with their owners - they tend to have similar expressions with their owners and strike similar poses with them. They doze off when their owners doze off, and they eat when their owners eat.

'Sometimes, you feel they're the real owners of the shops because they don't do anything and they get fed,' said Mr Heijnen, who has lived in Asia for 25 years.

'Their owners rush in and out, but they just sit there.

'Occasionally, the shop is so messy you can't even find the cat.'

The real bosses: Mr Heijnen joked that the cats are the real owners of these stores as 'they don't do anything and they get fed'

Fortunate cats: The moggies are considered lucky by their owners as they could draw in customers and liven up the store

'Their owners rush in and out, but they just sit there. Occasionally, the shop is so messy you can't even find the cat'

Left, Mr Heijnen was pictured with a cat as he tried to portrait the shop animal on a Hong Kong street. Right, a cat was pictured in front of coffins at a funeral store

The cats are also believed to be fortunate by their owners. Some felines would play near the entrance of the shops, bringing in customers who find them cute and livening up the atmosphere for the often straightforward shopping experiences.

Mr Heijnen, originally from Eindhoven, is a cat lover. He said he had always kept cats as pets, but when he moved from Singapore to Hong Kong at the end of 2015, he had to leave his three pet cats to a friend.

After seeing the many shop cats in Sai Ying Pun, the area he lives in Hong Kong, he started taking pictures of the animals and sharing them on Facebook.

The first cat Mr Heijnen photographed was Dau Ding, a lovely tabby guarding the traditional Chinese medicine shop he passes every day on his way to the Metro station and coffee shops.

Dau Ding's pictures got so popular that Mr Heijnen decided to explore the nooks and crannies of Sheung Wan and Sai Ying Pun, where many traditional stores are, to find out more about these iconic lucky animals and their relationships with their owners.

Most of the owners have kept the animals for years. The cats accompany them day in day out, when there is business and when there is not

After seeing the shop cats in Sai Ying Pun, the area he lives in Hong Kong, Mr Heijnen started taking pictures of the animals

When Mr Heijnen, a cat lover, moved from Singapore to Hong Kong at the end of 2015, he had to leave his three cats to a friend. The shop cats in Hong Kong sparked his great interests

On his Instagram page Chinese Whiskers, Mr Heijnen keeps an ever-growing lists of his snaps of the Hong Kong shop cats and their owners.

He has turned some of the pictures into a book, Hong Kong Shop Cats, which was published last November.

Mr Heijnen said: 'It is not uncommon to see shop cats in other countries, but due to health and safety restrictions, they don't usually appear in food stores.

'But in Hong Kong, shop cats can be found in many places, including shops selling dried seafood and traditional medicine, which makes them so special.'

Mr Heijnen's next project is to photograph the cats in the Hong Kong markets in areas such as Kowloon and Yau Ma Tei.

The artist said: 'Hong Kong is a fast-changing city. One day a shop is here, the next day it could be gone.'

Through photographing the adorable felines found at the city's shops and markets, the man hopes to capture a cute and lasting symbol of the buzzing cosmopolitan city.

On his Instagram page Chinese Whiskers , Mr Heijnen keeps an ever-growing lists of his snaps of the Hong Kong shop cats

He has turned some of the pictures into a book, Hong Kong Shop Cats, which was published last November

Mr Heijnen's next project is to photograph the cats in Hong Kong markets in areas such as Kowloon and Yau Ma Tei