A San Jose dad is paying $1,500 a month on a Willow Glen studio for his daughter’s two cats because they don’t get along with his new fiancée’s terrier.
The story of Maine Coon-and-Bombay-mix sisters Tina and Louise—named after a sibling duo in the animated sitcom Bob’s Burgers—getting a better deal on rent than most humans has gone viral since the Mercury News first reported it over the weekend, prompting mixed reactions.
Cat lovers gushed over the fatherly devotion of Troy Good, the apparently well-to-do businessman leasing the 400-square-foot “cat-chelor pad” for his daughter’s pets while she’s away at college. “That’s awesome!!” a user dida819 wrote on the cats’ Instagram account (because, of course they’re also budding IG stars). “Too many people get rid of their animals. Thankfully, you guys found a solution!!”
A USA Today headline deemed the cats “so extra, they have their own apartment.”
Others called the living arrangement “peak Silicon Valley,” “so Willow Glen,” and a stark reminder of the region’s vast wealth gap.
“While this story is funny,” Jennifer Loving, CEO of homeless advocacy nonprofit Destination Home, told the Merc, “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.”
Victoria Amith, the 18-year-old cat mom of Tina and Louise, announced on the kitties’ IG that they are no longer granting interview requests.
Source: Tina_and_Louise
What are the chances that the City’s Housing Department will put forth a memo that says owners of rent controlled properties are only allowed to lease those units to humans with a discernible pulse?
100%
See Rent Control works.
Not for humans. I wonder if those cats qualify for section 8….
Jennifer Loving, CEO of homeless advocacy nonprofit Destination Home, told the Merc, “We have thousands of people on our streets, and we’re paying to make sure that our cats have a place to live.”
Umm-m… Ms Loving, YOU didn’t pay anything. Did you?
But I’m sure you’d love to confiscate the money someone else earned, since social engineers are so much better at deciding how OPM should be spent.
.
Post about cats taking housing away from homeless in 3… 2… 1 …
Or did this comment just preempt that one? ☺
Exactly!
Uhm, No Jennifer, the owner of the cats are paying to make sure their cats have a place to live. “We’re” not paying for “our” cats to live there. She’s such a communist she even thinks she has partial ownership of someone else’s cats!
I don’t want to hear another word from San Jose Inside about the thousands of homeless people here in the Silicon Valley. Mow said!
Not surprising to read a story like this. With all that City Council & the HD has done to strip property rights from owners they are hurting renters the most.
Rent control has been an abysmal 40 year failure and the CC has doubled down on that failure with more regulations. Mom & Pop landlords are being driven out of business. Older properties will be converted to more profitable uses, leaving only the new, ultra-high end and expensive units available for rent. All by design since these units are owned by corporate landlords who make nice campaign contributions, especially to Saratoga Sam. Crony capitalism @ its finest.
Buried in the Merc article we learn that this is an accessory unit that lacks a kitchen. It’s not an apartment; it’s not even suitable as a long term rental. It’s a detached home office or studio.
The Murky News has an extortion, pay wall, so we’ll take your word for what they wrote, but I personally don’t trust much that the Murky News writes. However, USA Today said the following:
“Cats Louise and Tina have been living in a $1,500-a-month studio apartment complete with Apple TV in San Jose, California, since July, San Francisco Bay-area TV station KPIX reports. The apartment is also furnished with a couch and cat tree. Troy Good pays the rent, which is actually a good deal considering most comparable places in the neighborhood go for nearly $2,000 a month”
Sounds like the cats got a good deal. $1,500/mo and it includes Apple TV? Woo Hoo!
It’s not a studio apartment. From the Merc article: “For $1,500, Good and his cats got a decent deal. An average studio apartment in San Jose rents for $1,951 a month, according to RentCafe. But the unit Good is renting has no kitchen, which could bring the price down.”
Furthermore, it’s also only 400 square feet! A typical studio apartment is 500-600 square feet while a 1-bedroom is around 700 square feet.
Sarah J Warren … 9.0 9.5 9.5 scores in take a silver in mental gymnastics
For $1500/month, i’ll board the cats at our house and fly them to their owner for the holidays.