For Japan's herbivore men, cats are more than fine

You are familiar with the term "herbivore man," yes? It's used to refer to men who've more or less given up pursuing the opposite sex, settling in for solo flight.

Well, perhaps not completely solo, as many herbivores have taken quite well to cultivating relationships with cats. So-called "Cat-lover men" have become more and more common at neko cafes, establishments oriented around spending time with shop-owned pets.

Contrary to that rather disgusting-sounding nickname, the relationships cat-lover men are forming are also rather unusual, compared to the typical master-pet bond. Instead, cat-lover men like to watch, simply observing the cats rather than actually coming up to touch them. Apparently they display this voyeuristic behavior around human women. Cat-lover men who DO manage to work up the backbone needed for courting humans are being advised to go for older, unattached women to improve their chances.

Given that the primary issue herbivore men seem to have is difficulty forming intimate relationships with others, I can't say I'm surprised to see them taking this difficulty as far as animals. If Japan had more space, I would actually recommend that these men get dogs instead. They're simpler and less conditional in their love.

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