Instacat – the kitten delivery service

http://www.instacat.info

by gregdrm • 11 years ago

66 55 11 years ago

anigbrowl3• 11 years ago

I don't know about this - it's going to be disorienting for some cats to get switched around between so many different environments. What will the firm do about a cat that starts acting out - running away, clawing, or more commonly, spraying to make territorial markings? Cats prize stability and even a cat that hasn't been in the habit can suddenly take up such behaviors.

Source: many years of experience of up to 10 cats at once. I wouldn't mind if this service also offered to pick up excess cats (I have too many due to a neighbor abandoning hers on me) but I would feel guilty about not setting them up with a more permanent environment.

placeybordeaux• 11 years ago

It's not real.

Source: The footer.

anigbrowl3• 11 years ago

I just saw that but I'm going to leave it up in case someone tries to set up Uber for cats. There would be some demand, as you can see from the success of cat cafes - in fact it would be interesting to see how many signups this would get if it were filled out a little bit and disclaimer removed.

bryondowd• 11 years ago

Not to mention, what happens to these kittens when they grow up? Are they put down? Maybe ground up and fed to the next batch of cuteness to be shipped out? So many questions!

Note: I took the parent as being tongue-in-cheek. I apologize if I misinterpreted.

breischl• 11 years ago

I think once they become too problematic, you turn them into Bonsai Kittens. Still cute, but they really can't be a problem anymore!

http://bonsaikitten.com/bkintro.php

md224• 11 years ago

I wish this was real.

sciurus• 11 years ago

From the footer: "This isn't a real product. Just something I built on a plane to make Brandon laugh."

mucker• 11 years ago

Thank God.

anigbrowl3• 11 years ago

D'oh, but whew.

giggles_giggles• 11 years ago

It should be pretty obvious it's a joke. The logo is the same as the Instacart logo, just modified slightly to have cat ears ;)

Nadya2• 11 years ago

I'm not aware of Instacart, so that wouldn't have been a tell-tale sign for me.

Although I assumed it was a joke product to begin with - the footer was some welcomed assurance.

ceejayoz• 11 years ago

It should be pretty obvious it's a joke.

Uber has delivered kittens before, so we need a bit of a Poe's Law for startup concepts.

"Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is utterly impossible to parody a startup idea in such a way that someone won't mistake for the genuine article."

shepardrtc• 11 years ago

I know many people who would not only subscribe to this service but actually attempt to create it, or even drive for it. So I did not for a minute think it was a joke... But I'm glad it is.

fennecfoxen• 11 years ago

Additionally, the team is all internet-famous cats (not just people who have a cat picture instead of a profile picture.)

The UX guy: https://www.facebook.com/blindcathoneybee

logicallee• 11 years ago

And when he got off the plane and turned off airplane mode: 4 texts, 17 unread emails - how the hell did all these people get my number. 'Just thought I'd let you know we'd be happy to see you'? Who the hell is Mark? 'Lunch Friday'? What the hell.

Okay, let's see. Reply: Actually we are not raising a round currently. Sent. 1 minute later. "Not even with these terms?"... etc

echeese• 11 years ago

Too bad it's fake. I'd pay a lot of money for Maru to be my cat.

hitekker• 11 years ago

For a joke site, this is pretty well-designed! I was wondering if you used a ThemeForest design or some other pre-packaged landing page, but, nope completely unique.

On a side note (and perhaps also a shameless plug) maybe I should consider renaming the browser extension I showed to HN the other day: http://instacats.co/.

venomsnake2• 11 years ago

It is not worse than some products that got real money behind them. If it got you even for a second - we are in 1999 mode again.

fredkbloggs3• 11 years ago

This idea is significantly less dumb than many that have been funded (people like cute furry animals, so they're ahead of advertising-supported iOS app #213742 already). It's been 1999 for a while now. We're just waiting for the Fed to raise interest rates like they did from June 1999 through May 2000, with the killer blow being that last 50bp jump. Until then, you are cleared to party on.

venomsnake2• 11 years ago

I honestly had the idea once of a rent a rabbit cafe. My problem with the idea was protecting the animals from abuse.

trhway• 11 years ago

We're just waiting for the Fed to raise interest rates like they did from June 1999 through May 2000

doing it before elections changes the party in the White House, like in 2000 and 2008. So the question is what movie... err... president Fed would find more entertaining - Bush 3, Even More Dumber or Clinton 2, I'm Back, Baby.

ivan_ah• 11 years ago

I thought it was real until reading the comments here.

kuschku• 11 years ago

Yup, the dot com bubble is back, and worse than ever.

whymsicalburito• 11 years ago

How could they not say "Sign up meow"??

gregdrm4• 11 years ago

Well it does say "Request Invite Meow"...

synaesthesisx• 11 years ago

Didn't these guys just close a $30 mil funding round (putting them at ~ $1.2b valuation now?)

HenryTheHorse• 11 years ago

"Kittens-as-a-service. Now with 9x availability"

sorenbs• 11 years ago

Am I crazy to think this could actually work as a real business? The other day I was telling a friend how I love the idea of having and walking a dog - once in a while. Unfortunately my life doesn't allow me to have a dog in the traditional full comitment way. But maybe there could be a way to get that dog-owner experience the few days or weeks each month you would have the time. It's obviously super important that the animals are treated well, so that is probably difficult to do without making it too expensive to be viable.

yellowapple2• 11 years ago

If there's an animal shelter in your area, they tend to be in demand for volunteers; based on what I've heard from family and friends who've volunteered for the local SPCA shelter, for example, it sounds like it's right up your alley.

magic_beans• 11 years ago

They need a cool mobile app..

But also, from their website: "Volunteers must be able to commit to a minimum of eight hours per month for a minimum of six months. Due to the extensive training requirements, we are not able to accept short-term volunteers."

Not exactly "occasional dog owner", though I suppose 8 hours/month isn't a huge commitment.

illegalsmile• 11 years ago

Do you not have friends with dogs? Seems like at least half of my friends have dogs and they always say if I ever want to take them out for a walk or run to go for it.

istvan__• 11 years ago

An absolute must! I wish there was something for real.

opcvx• 11 years ago

Who here would pay ~15$ to rent a healthy cat for an hour or two? Seems like an interesting idea.

Guaranteed no toxoplasmosis!

On a second thought, getting a cat is really not a problem, but this would provide entertainment without the responsibility.

Nadya2• 11 years ago

It's like a Cat Cafe that comes to you. But without the coffee and food.

shortstuffsushi• 11 years ago

That's the second tier of the pricing.

jankassens• 11 years ago

everkitten.com was a similar fake service. Subscription to have a jung kitten. https://web.archive.org/web/20140218072828/http://everkitten...

qume• 11 years ago

My cat stood on the power button for too long on my keyboard today and killed my work-in-progress. I think renting might be better than owning as I could be without a kitty when working.

LastZactionHero• 11 years ago

The second feature page allows you to rent your own cat out- could be a purfect solution.

  Have a cat of your own? Want to make some money off him or   
  her on the weekends? Well Pimp your Puss by signing up for 
  our Kitty Consignment program, or sign up to be a driver 
  through our Kitty Conveyor program.

jeffbarr• 11 years ago

Maybe your cat needs a power button...

yellowapple2• 11 years ago

Relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9TmmF79Rw0

therealmarv• 11 years ago

How was it designed and made? It is well designed at first view.

georgeglue1• 11 years ago

Is just this a subtle ad? The twitter/facebook on the bottom direct to a website-maker company.

gregdrm4• 11 years ago

It was not intended to be... just a joke :) Any backlinks don't hurt though...

ndeme2• 11 years ago

I am currently in the middle of a lawsuit with the Instacat service. Instead of delivering the cat I had selected, I received a hamster in a cat outfit which bit my child. The cat outfit was also poor quality. My child's wound became infected and then my husband divorced me. I am only 3 years old.

gregdrm4• 11 years ago

We apologize for the mixup ndeme2. There was some confusion in our A/B test team (we were experimenting with alternative small mammal rentals). Please email support and we'll provide you a free week of deliveries.

ebiester• 11 years ago

I think I'd start with dogs, really. Trained therapy dogs that come with a trainer for a couple hours to businesses and individuals.

rshlo• 11 years ago

$1B valuation in 3..2..1..

MichaelCrawford2• 11 years ago

s/dilvery/deliver/

gregdrm4• 11 years ago

Text editor on a plane with a dyslexic writer... not a good combination. And the scotch... that probably didn't help either. Fixed! Thanks :)

MichaelCrawford2• 11 years ago

Are you familiar with the Bonsai Kittens?

bjwbell• 11 years ago

This would make a great episode plot in HBO's Silicon Valley.

steanne• 11 years ago

Actually, Uber does this, though not all the time.

http://newsroom.uber.com/austin/2014/10/uberkittens-is-back/

kra34• 11 years ago

It's currently the #1 Product Hunt startup of the day

Instacat – the kitten delivery service

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