Actor Lawrence Wong is a 'crazy cat guy'

In this new series, ST speaks to pet-owning personalities about the trials and delights of raising their fur kids

- Joanne Soh

Spending an hour on the road followed by four hours on a plane to see his fur kids is not a big deal for Lawrence Wong.

The Malaysia-born Singaporean actor – whose work is mainly in Guangzhou, China – is so attached to his five felines that whenever he has some downtime, he will head home to be with them.

“I miss them so much, so whenever I have a three- or four-day break from filming, you’ll find me on the next flight home,” Wong tells The Straits Times via the phone from the Chinese city, where he is shooting long-form drama Hello 1983 for Chinese streaming platform iQiyi.

The actor, who is in his 30s, is a doting pawrent to Tomu, a six-year-old male grey tabby Scottish Fold; Tora, a female grey marble munchkin, also six; Toki, a five-year-old male white-grey munchkin; three-year-old Toto, a female chocolate British Shorthair; and Kaoru, a two-year-old male ginger Maine Coon.

When he cannot return to Singapore, he FaceTimes them every night before they sleep.

“I will talk to them, watch some YouTube videos with them,” says Wong, who found fame in China after starring as Imperial Guard Suolun Hailancha in the hit Chinese period drama Story Of Yanxi Palace (2018).

Wong admits that he was initially unsure how his cats would react to FaceTime, but he noticed they responded to his voice and the videos he played for them.

He also watches his cats via the closed-circuit television sets installed all over his three-storey house.

“I know they miss me as they will look for me around the house,” says Wong. “They will also sleep on my bed with the air-con switched on every night.”