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Cat owners need never drink alone again.

The Japanese are crazy about cats: revered in Japanese folklore as having protective powers and symbolizing good fortune, images of felines abound. "Maneki neko" (beckoning cat) statues are ubiquitous throughout Japan, and Hello Kitty products have penetrated most corners of the globe.

Now a Japanese manufacturer has hooked on to this obsession to produce "cat wine" – a non-alcoholic beverage made from the juice of cabernet franc grapes, vitamin C and catnip, and intended "exclusively for cats." Presumably, pets will only be able to drink the product with their owners' purrmission.

B&H Lifes, a pet supplement manufacturer, has titled the wine Nyan Nyan Nouveau – Japanese for "meow" (and also slang for conjugal relations). It admits that during testing most cats did not take to the wine, but their owners lapped up the concept.

B&H Lifes hopes the wine will be bought as a treat so pets can join in the festivities at Christmas and New Year, birthdays, and even the annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau every November. Naturally, the cat would be drinking "Pussy Nouveau." It can also be served to celebrate the cat's birthday, and will allow feline participation during the owner's post-work "happy hour."

The wine costs 399 yen ($4) for 180 milliliters and the company is producing just 1,000 bottles. Is the intention to give it rarity value, like real wine? At any rate, it doesn't age well. The company suggests that Nyan Nyan Nouveau should be consumed within a year.

A word of warning to cat owners: don't give your pet too much cat wine, or it could end up like Nyan Cat, the hiss-terical star of an internet meme that fans regard as the cat's meow.