"Sharing cats" 9.9 yuan a day The outbreak of the pet economy has spawned controversial projects

On March 9, a news story of "sharing a cat for 9.9 yuan a day" circulated online and immediately appeared on the hot search. Amid the huge controversy, on the evening of March 9, it was reported that the doors of the "shared cats" store were closed and the billboards had been removed.

The hotly debated incident occurred in Chengdu 339 Shopping Center. According to media reports, there have been a number of "shared cat" advertising signs in this shopping mall, which read: 9.9 yuan to take the cat home to accompany you.

When the reporter contacted the owner as a customer, the owner told the reporter that more than a dozen cats for sharing in the store have all been rented, and if they want to rent, they need to wait in line. The reporter asked the shopkeeper whether the frequent replacement of the living environment and the owner would bring bad influence to the cat, and the shopkeeper said: "The shared cats have been serving every family, they are more accustomed, as long as they are good to the cat, in fact, the cat has no so-called habit (frequent replacement of the living environment) Problem."

According to the owner, sharing cats need to pay a deposit, depending on the type, the amount ranges from 1200 yuan to tens of thousands of yuan. The tenant needs to provide a copy and original of the ID card, a photo of the home address environment, and sign a cat rental contract, the tenant must live in Chengdu and have no other pets at home.

At the same time, the owner of the shop asked the tenant to buy cat staple food and supplies at the store, which cost about two or three hundred yuan. In this regard, the shopkeeper explained, "Cats suddenly change food, will diarrhea, and just change the environment to change the food is easy to (produce) stress (reaction). ”

As soon as the news came out, it quickly appeared on the hot search, triggering a hot discussion. Among them, some netizens believe that it is not appropriate to "share" life. Some pet owners also questioned the store's statement that "cats are not so-called habitual", believing that cats have sensitive personalities and frequent changes in the environment not only have an impact on their psychology, but are more likely to produce serious stress reactions, and some even endanger their lives.

The reporter noted that this is not the first time that the concept of "shared cats" has appeared. As early as 2017, there were media exposures that a cat house in Shenzhen had briefly carried out a "cat rental service", with a daily price of 39.9 yuan for renting a cat, and the rental time was measured in months. The service was launched to cat lovers who have limited ability and cannot keep cats for a long time. After reporting, the store was boycotted by cat lovers.

In the same year, some people also proposed the project planning of "take a little time, every Monday cat", which said that it cooperated with the largest and most professional pet adoption agency in China, 99 yuan per month, and sent a cat to the door every week. At the end of the plan, the planner said that the project was in the BP (Business Plan) stage and that interested parties were welcome to discuss it.

However, the project and concept of sharing cats in that year were questioned and opposed by many parties as soon as they were exposed. Professor Guo Peng, director of the Animal Protection Research Center of Shandong University, objectively analyzed that the impact of this "shared cat" business model on cats is divided into negative and positive aspects.

On the positive side, because some cats are transferred from pet stores or rescue stations to the home environment, as long as they are properly raised, the new environment will increase the cat's interest in life. Even some cats will be relatively accustomed to frequent changes of environmental conditions, just like people traveling.

But Guo Peng also admitted: "This is the most optimistic estimate." Different cats, or even the same cat, are constantly disturbed and interrupted by a new environment, which can cause them to feel frustrated and therefore become more tired and negative. At the same time, Guo Peng said that the business model of "sharing cats" has no way to avoid the frightened fatigue of animals and the psychological harm caused by the owner intentionally or unintentionally to cats.

After causing a huge controversy, the news that "the store involved has closed and the advertisement has been removed" was on the hot search on the evening of March 9. The reporter noted that in recent years, with the outbreak of the pet economy, some controversial projects related to pets have been spawned. Not long ago, the "cat and dog blind box" launched on an e-commerce platform also caused great controversy. The so-called "cat and dog blind box" is that the seller plays a blind box gimmick, claiming that dozens of yuan, or even a few yuan, can randomly select valuable breeds of cats and dogs. As a result, some buyers sent earth cats, earth dogs, and even cats and dogs that were seriously ill or had died after placing an order.

After triggering a scolding, the platform cleaned up the "pet blind box". At present, there are no products involving live animals in the search for "pet blind boxes".

Source: Beijing Daily Client | Reporter Zhao Yuhan

Editor: Zhao Yuhan

Process Editor: Dan Guo