cup of tea and a cat, please

In Japan, cat lovers are paying for petting time at the country's popular cat cafes. For a fee of up to $10 an hour, patrons can enjoy tea, lounge on a comfortable chair and borrow the affection of feline employees.

Neko JaLaLa, near Tokyo's bustling Akihabara district, is one of over 70 cat cafes to open in Japan. Another, Calico, sees up to 70 visitors a day during the week and 150 a day on weekends at its location in the city of Musashino. Such cafes have become a cultural trend in Japan over the last six years, particularly in the overstressed metropolois of Tokyo. Pets are banned at many rental apartments, and jet-setting workaholics are too busy to care for their own.

Because of cat hair- and smell- vacuums and air fresheners are plentiful. The cafes also require patrons to wash their hands, use liquid sanitizer and remove their hsoes. And the well-being of the professional pets comes first. The cafes are quick to scold over such infractions as tail-pulling and sleep interruption, and children are often unwelcome. And, should constant attention begin to bore them, a cat may snub a customer in favour of a scratching post. -Jane Sqitzer

-This article was pulled from the Maclean's Online edition which I get emailed to me weekly for free. The validity of this article has been verified by a quick check with Wikipedia.

This basically solves my dilemma of whether or not i should get a cat. I can skip over the whole owning a cat thing and just borrow a cat at my leisure. No need to buy cat food or a scratching post. No need to cat-proof my condo or worry about cat hair being on every peice of clothing and furniture i own. I will never have to look for someone to feed Kitty while i'm away. Nor will I have to experience the guilt of leaving him at home.

The only problem I can forsee with my new Kitty Ownership Idea [(KOI) pronounced like coy] is that it is going to get ridiculously expensive flying back and forth between Vancouver and Toyko to visit my new kitty friends. I am hoping that some local entrepenuer will jump on this bandwagon and set up shop in Vancouver.