Rent A Cat

Having personally visited Japanese ports a few times times including Tokyo in the 1980's/90's i was amazed at the fascination for cats among the average Japanese population.
Japanese have a problem of a lack of space, beside's the average cost of living is expensive and hence most working class Japanese find it expensive to own and maintain pet cats. Hence "Cat Cafe's" and now "Rent a Cat" type of scemes have arisen in that country.
I personally feel that cats being territorial animals aould find it extremely difficult to adjust to new "Hired Owners" or "Hired homes" in rapid scuccession.
As a owner of cats i have been able to study their behaviour and have found them be co-owners of my apartment, they own my house as much as i own them! Imagine renting my cats to strangers,an absolutely "No-No" even if i received fantastic fees for the same.
"Cat Cafe's" are more suitable since the cats would be permenantly housed in the cafe with visitors petting and pampering them but never taking them away from their "Cafe Home", their cat territory.
i am personally against the scheme of "RENT A CAT" but definitely for the setting up of "CAT CAFE'S" for people who love cats but for various reasons can't maintain them at home.

I hope renting cats ain't gonna catch on.....poor cats won't know if dey comin or going!!

Thanks for another interesting article Elisa, this is something I'd never thought about happening.
No I don't like the idea at all as most cats don't enjoy journeys and almost all hate new places. As you say, it takes a cat a while to settle into new surroundings.
I think a rent a cat would become very unsettled and insecure and how could you be sure he was going to well treated whilst there ?
I hate it that cats are used in any way, it's not right, they deserve better.
Recently, visiting some cats who were abandoned by a 'friend' (ex friend now) and moving some of them to a different rescue centre to have a better chance of being rehomed it was obvious they were traumatised by another change of surroundings.
I think dogs adjust better than cats but I wouldn't think rent a dog would be good for dogs either.

I am not at all comfortable with the 'Rent a cat' concept. How awful for the poor cat! This is just another way to expose the cat to maltreatment. I really really hope that this idea does NOT catch on and I really think that it should not actually be allowed in Japan either.
Cats are living, feeling beings. My cats are part of our family, not a car or house that one rents for a time. Horrid thought!

Most cats are territorial, only comfortable in familiar surroundings. Like Elisa says, rental cats would most likely hide under the bed. There are some cats who would probably not have a problem with changing surroundings/people. There was one at the no kill shelter near me who was super friendly and outgoing. He found a home already, by the way. I had a cat as a kid who would ride in the car with us when we went somewhere. She would have made a great rent-a-cat. At first I thought this rent-a-cat idea was good, because it could save the lives of some cats. But any cat who is so outgoing and sorry, "doglike", is going to find a home right away anyway. This wouldn't save any cats who wouldn't already have most likely found homes.

And I'd be worried about what would happen to the cat while it was on loan. Look at how rental cars are treated? When something belongs to everyone it belongs to no one, and it will not be well cared for. Another good example is how some renters trash rental properties. Landlords can tell you horror stories. But tile, carpeting, plumbing and light fixtures can be replaced. This is a living being we're talking about, and I just don't have a good feeling about it becoming a "rental property." No good can come of that.

I come up with some strange ideas for articles. Especially at the end of a long shift at work. I don't doubt someone will make a go of this. I never had a pet rock but I do have a troll collection. Perhaps a few Furby toys to talk to each other if someone is looking for a companion. I just think it would be too stressful for an animal, whether a dog or a cat.

Elisa, thanks for an interesting post, one which 'makes to ponder'.

Short take: this is another step to the commodification of cats. We are reifyig all living beings and assessing their worth by means of a price tag. I think this a horrible concept, degrading to cat and human alike. Better to purchase a pet rock, or one of those highly animated mechanical ersatz cats, than what is on offer here. (Not that I advocate pet rocks and frenetic stuffed mechanical cats, mind.)