ODD / ODD NEWS
Public appalled at 'shared cat' rental service, lambasting it an irresponsible move
Published: Mar 10, 2021 05:38 PM
Photo: screenshot of We Video on Sina Weibo.

Photo: "Shared cat" rental service. screenshot of We Video on Sina Weibo.



A cat rental center in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province recently became the target of an online backlash after its promotional ads showed customers can pay 9.9 yuan ($1.52) to rent a "shared cat" for 24 hours.

A bunch of flyers for "shared cats" led local residents to a pet center in a shopping mall in Chengdu, where there were ten cats available for rent at only 9.9 yuan per day, Red Star News reported. 

The store owner said that a renter had to buy matching cat products in the store and pay a deposit of over 1,000 yuan ($153). On Monday, all ten cats had been rented out. 

The rental center soon became the target of a backlash and protests from animal right advocates and the general public, as frequent changes of living environments are extremely dangerous for cats. Netizens also lambasted it as an irresponsible move, as there could be no guarantee that the renter would not hurt the cats.

As of Tuesday, the pet center had been shut down, and the related advertisement flyers had been removed. 

Global Times