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Japanese cat gets the ultimate playhouse: a giant cardboard robot hand-made by its owners【Pics】

Casey Baseel Aug 12, 2017
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We wish there was space for us inside too.

As we’ve seen before, there are few things cats love more than a nice cardboard box to claim as their domain. And though any box will do, if you really love your pet you might be tempted to spruce up its cardboard abode with one that’s shaped like a fancy bathtub or Shinto shrine.

But what if your aesthetics run less toward the luxurious or cultural, and more towards the just-plain-awesome? Then we’d recommend following the example of Japanese Twitter user @kyoryu_kuramo and building a giant robot (giant compared to a cat, anyway) for your kitty to play and relax in.

建造中の写真 pic.twitter.com/afbR2zYqdQ

— 倉持キョーリュー (@kyoryu_kuramo) August 8, 2017

After amassing a number of empty boxes (that previously held cat food), @kyoryu_kuramo, who’s also a toy designer, sketched a design for the robot. From there, his wife, a trained welder, took over and made her husband’s vision a reality.

▼ The rear hatch/ramp allows for easy access to the cockpit.

妻(溶接工)が僕(玩具デザイナー)のロボの落書きを立体化してくれました。
猫(ペット)も示し合わせたように乗り込んでくれました。 pic.twitter.com/7fSbYiLZDh

— 倉持キョーリュー (@kyoryu_kuramo) August 8, 2017

Upon completion, kitty mecha jock Sei Shonagon happily climbed in with no coaxing necessary, taking the sort of bold initiative anime protagonists often lack when ordered to get into robots built by their fathers. To sweeten the deal, the human couple added a literal creature comfort by putting a soft pad to sit on inside the cockpit.

https://twitter.com/kyoryu_kuramo/status/895473838321934336

However, while @kyoryu_kuramo’s home has only one cardboard robot, it has multiple cats.

ナゴ「あーダメだな、これはジェネレーターが完全にいかれちまってる。」 pic.twitter.com/mkss9gxbtP

— 倉持キョーリュー (@kyoryu_kuramo) August 9, 2017

ナゴ「どんな操縦をしたらこんな機体がボロボロになるんだってんだ、まったく」
ムー「おやっさんすまねぇ・・・・」 pic.twitter.com/fn97HmCjWh

— 倉持キョーリュー (@kyoryu_kuramo) August 10, 2017

In response to this lack of mecha infrastructure, @kyoryu_kuramo has already started work designing a second cardboard robot, although it’s unclear whether this is because he’s a loving pet owner or simply drunk on his own power as a mad scientist.

https://twitter.com/kyoryu_kuramo/status/89490561346913894

Oh, and if you love the idea of cats in cardboard robots so much that you’d like to wear it proudly on your chest…

https://twitter.com/kyoryu_kuramo/status/895487151088869377

…there’s already a T-shirt commemorating the first unit, available online here for 2,800 yen (US$25).

Just don’t let your pets see you wearing it if you’re not planning to build them a robot yourself, unless you want to drive them mad with jealousy.

Source: IT Media, Twitter/@kyoryu_kuramo