Siberian cat drives his own… tank and loves it (VIDEO)

A Russian engineer from Siberia has built a cat play house that looks and moves like a tank. The toy was such a success with felines (and their people) that he decided to make a business out of it.

The idea came to Ivan Viryasov, who is from Novosibirsk, Russia’s third largest city, when he saw some cat houses in a store and was less than impressed.

“I’ve modelled my tank on the famous T-34. I only failed at assembling a gun that would shoot tennis balls,” Viryasov told local Sib FM.

All of the materials used for the 50-kilogram T-34 replica are harmless to animals and humans. The “tank” can move after being pushed, and its turret rotates. Viryasov says cats can use it both as a place to hide and a scratcher.

“It’s very safe, I can even stand on it,” Viryasov told RUPTLY news agency.

On November 3, the tank was put on sale for 15,000 rubles (about $235) at a Russian analogue of eBay.

But why a tank, and not a plane or a ship?

“This challenge looked the toughest to me. The turret and tracks need to move. What’s a ship? Body, chimney, and the mast, perhaps. This is not very exciting mechanics-wise, and I majored in mechanics,” Viryasov told RUPTLY.