Besides acquiring homes, jewelry, and a tomb, Nicolas Cage has also splurged on exotic pets. Among them, he is rumored to have spent $150,000 on an octopus. So Cage was drawn to Riko Shibata when he found out she, too, had a penchant for collecting unconventional animals. “She likes animals, too, so I asked her, ‘Do you have any pets?'” Cage told ET in July 2021, recalling meeting his future wife. “And she said, ‘Yes, I have flying squirrels.’ … I thought, ‘That’s it. This could work out,” he added.
Over the years, Cage has spoken fondly of his pets and says his strong connection to animals dates back to his childhood. “I’ve always responded to cats,” he told Vanity Fair in October 2019. “As a child they were my best friends,” Cage added. Speaking about his pet cat and dog, the “Gone in 60 Seconds” star elaborated on why he was so fond of animals. “[T]hese are profound relationships that transcend relationships with people even,” he told GQ in July 2021 — around the same time he told the anecdote about Shibata’s squirrels. “Because there are no people-oriented noises to corrupt the relationship, like jealousy or undercutting.”
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The following year, the couple gave birth to their first child, whom they almost named after a famous musician.
