These Two Cats Live Alone in a $1,500-a-Month Apartment
Animal lovers would do anything for their pets. Pet dogs and cats are considered members of their families, and their owners spend thousands of dollars on their nutrition, health and overall happiness.
Recently for one cat owner, her feline love reached an all-time high in a $1,500-a-month studio apartment in San Jose, California.
Eighteen-year-old Victoria Amith had to leave her two cats — Louise and Tina, named after the show “Bob’s Burgers” — behind when she went off to college at Azusa Pacific University in Southern California, according to The Huffington Post. Her dad, Troy Good, agreed to take care of the cats, seeing as he adopted them as kittens for her when she was younger.
However, Good soon moved in with his fiancée, who already had a dog in her possession. Naturally, the three pets clashed in the tight domain, and Good was forced to look elsewhere for a proper home for these 20-pound felines.
So Good turned to his friend David Callisch, who owned a studio apartment behind his home in Silicon Valley. Callisch was planning to make some extra money by renting out the space as an Airbnb, but Good proposed another idea.
“He says, ‘Hey, would you mind if I – how about if I rented your place?’” Callisch said.
“I said, ‘Well, what do you mean?’ He says, ‘Well, you wouldn’t have to deal with people all the time if you rented it, and I could stick the cats there. I’m close, I could come visit.’ I said, ‘Really?’”
According to East Bay Times, Callisch really doesn’t mind his feline tenants.
“Basically I’ve got two renters that don’t have opposable thumbs,” Callisch said. “It’s actually great. They’re very quiet, obviously. The only problem is they stink up the place.”
For Callisch, while he feels bad about leasing his apartment to animals instead of humans, he recognizes that it is better, seeing as the apartment doesn’t have a kitchen. The living space’s only built-in kitchen appliance is the sink.
However, the family and friend are still receiving heavy criticism from citizens of the area due to the fact that the Silicon Valley area has a ravaging homelessness problem.
Mike Rosenberg, a Seattle Times Reporter, shared his opinion on the issue:
Silicon Valley is a place with so much inequality where thousands of people sleep on the streets every night while someone rents a below-market studio for $1,500 a month to two catshttps://t.co/2n3FKmRs3h
— Mike Rosenberg (@ByRosenberg) January 13, 2019
Jennifer Loving, the CEO of Destination Home, an organization that addresses the homelessness problem in Santa Clara County, talked to the East Bay Times about the issue.
“While this story is funny, it really does highlight the tremendous inequity in the Silicon Valley. We have thousands of people on our streets, and we’re paying to make sure that our cats have a place to live.”
While there are discussions on the ethical responsibility of citizens to house humans first, Amith is confident in her father’s decision.
Callisch visits the apartment each day to feed and play with Louise and Tina, while Good stops by often as well, and Amith visits when she is able.
Amith is planning on bringing her two cats back with her when she moves out of the dormitory building.
“I love my cats so much,” she said. “I’m so attached to them. I’m like a cat lady.”
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