MOSCOW, October 14 (RIA Novosti) – Cat-lovers in Ukraine’s capital Kiev finally have the chance to satisfy their need for companionship through a tailor-made service offering one-night stands rather than lasting relationships, thanks to a new business that offers cats for rent.
Just 30 hryvnia ($3.5) gets the client a full package comprising: cat, cup of cocoa, warm blankie and some easy listening music, Segondya.ua news website reported Monday.
The animal and paraphernalia are rented out by the day, the website reported, citing the entrepreneur behind the project, identified only as Sergei.
And if a day is not enough, there is always the option of providing a permanent home for the animals, which come from a local shelter, Sergei was cited as saying.
The Kiev-based businessman is not the first to tap into the promising feline rental industry: A similar service was launched last winter in Krasnoyarsk in eastern Siberia.
Since 2011, people who buy new apartments in St. Petersburg can rent a cat to enter it first – which, according to a Russian urban legend, helps win over the guardian spirit or domovoi.
Ukraine also offers a range of other support services: Segodnya.ua reported last month that people in the capital can rent a wife (no sex included, but she cooks and cleans), a temporary friend who listens to clients venting their mind; a by-the-hour drinking companion; and even a striptease performer dressed up as Miss Piggy.
