You know how some apartment come with furniture or kitchen appliances? These Tokyo apartments come with cats. Yes, cats!
Tokyo Cat Guardian, a cat protection group, is teaming up with landlords and prospective tenants for a volunteer program that puts cats from animal shelters into apartments. This is ideal for apartment management who want to help animals and for prospective residents who might want the company of a furry friend.
According to My Navi, there is a screening process, and everything is on a case-by-base basis. The organization tries to make the experience as easy as possible on the animals. There's also phone support for residents, should they need feline advice.
These apartments might be ideal for those who want cats, but might be concerned about their age (to be blunt, they're worried about, perhaps, dying) or they think they'll have to be transferred for work. You can return the animals to the protection group after your lease ends.
It's probably smarter just to get your own cat—from a shelter, preferably. Then again, this might be a good way to find both a cat from a shelter and an apartment that allows pets. Many apartment buildings in Japan do not.
Not all the cat apartments seem to be cat themed—and there only appears to be a handful of them at the moment. Some of them look like typical apartments:
Back in 2010, another Tokyo apartment building, Denzuin Cherry Mansion, began offering an apartment that came with cats from a shelter.
That's why apartment number 403 is designed with cats in mind. Likewise, there is a screening process, and it is also possible to become the animals' owner upon moving out.
話題の"猫付きのマンション"の現状と、今後の展開について [Excite]
東京都内で「猫付きマンション」が続々と拡大中 [MyNavi]
「ネコ付きマンションなんて幸せだにゃ～」だけじゃない、殺処分からネコを守る活動 [IT Media]
Photos: Tokyo Cat Guardian, Tokyo Cat Guardian, JK Home
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