Pet owners spend $20K to dress their cat as Starbucks barista

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Starbucks released its 2024 fall menu — and one cat is apparently very excited about the seasonal announcement. 

Waffle is an 8-year-old female orange tabby cat from Santa Clara, California, who has taken social media by storm with her adorable outfits. 

Cat parents Kathy Guo and Sam Xie started an Instagram account for their beloved animal, and have been posting pictures of Waffle in various aprons for years.

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Sam Xie told Fox News Digital that Waffle is treated like his child and is "the brightest star in our lives."

"We began dressing Waffle up when she was really young (2016) … We just did it for fun and giggles back then," he said. 

Waffle is a big Starbucks fan and even has two employee-only pins, the cat's owners told Fox News Digital.   (Sam Xie)

"We started with really easy things like collars, bandanas, capes etc., and we gradually increased to more difficult costumes like the ones that would require her paws going through."

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After the couple posted pictures online, Waffle began to gain popularity among social media users — with many of her now over 28,000 followers asking where they could purchase the outfits. 

With a new idea in mind, Xie said he began selling aprons online as they were easier to put on a cat that couldn’t be tamed. 

Sam Xie and Kathy Guo of California are pictured here with their cat Waffle.  (Sam Xie)

"To help market my aprons on Instagram, that's when ‘Waffle The Barista’ was born. A lot of people out there love coffee, and we thought, ‘Why don't we use Waffle's paws to do it so it looks like she is the one making the coffee.'"

Over the years, Xie said he and his wife have spent as much as $20,000 on Waffle’s journey to being a barista — including on props, coffee, aprons, merchandise and a custom Starbucks Cat Tree, costing the pet owners $2,000. 

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Xie said Waffle is a frequent customer at a Starbucks location near their home, and she has even received employee-only pins from workers. 

Waffle has been posing for Instagram with unique outfits for years.  (Sam Xie)

"If Waffle were to order a drink from Starbucks, it would be the Brown Sugar Oatmilk Iced Shaken Espresso," he said. "Something about this drink makes Waffle curious — maybe the smell."

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Starbucks announced the return of the beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte on August 21, and it hit shelves the following day. 

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Other items returning for the 2024 fall menu include a Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, an Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai and an Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato. 

Cat owners have been dressing their tabby cat in aprons — specifically Starbucks aprons, as her alter ego is known as "Waffle The Barista." (Sam Xie)

The company added a few new items this year — including the Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai, the Iced Caramel Apple Cream Latte and the Iced Honey Apple Almondmilk Flat White, according to Starbucks. 

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At the time of this report, Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte retails for anywhere between $6.25 in Texas to $7.25 in New York City — for a grand size.