Hello, I'm Director Sakita, who lives as a cat servant.
He is known among a small circle of people for only talking about cats or Mongolia ( click here to read about the Mongolian warrior training tour).
It's Meow Meow Meow Cat Day.
Do you pet your cat?
We currently have five cats and it's always meow meow meow meow days.
My cat
- Tsukuyomi (male)
- Born in 2010. Adopted from a cat protection organization.
- Futsu (♀)
- Born in 2010. Adopted from a cat protection organization.
- Toyotama (female)
- Born in 2012. Delivered to my home via a friend.
- Namuchi♂
- Born in 2013 Found near my house
- Kikuri♀
- Born in 2014 Found near my house
We currently have five cats, but many cats have come and gone.
I volunteered to temporarily take in cats from cat protection groups, and I also took in baby cats through a friend and tried to find foster homes for them.
There is currently something of a cat boom in the streets, with the internet being flooded with cat images and videos, and with more opportunities to see cute cats, many people are probably interested in owning one.
In fact, the number of people keeping cats is on the rise.
Meanwhile, cat rescue groups are constantly overwhelmed with abandoned cats. Why is this?
Can we live together until the end?
What happens to abandoned cats?
There are many different types of animal protection groups. Some groups only protect dogs or cats, while others also protect rabbits and birds. Their activities and policies vary.
Dogs and cats rescued by animal protection organizations are often rescued from the following types of environments:
Just one example...
- Multi-pet collapse
- The owners have grown old and become ill, they have been taken to a shelter, or there is no one to take them in so they are abandoned.
- Abandoning kittens born from pet cats that have not been spayed or neutered, or stray cats
- Stray cats are increasing in number due to irresponsible feeding, and are being disliked by neighbors and living in poor conditions due to people abusing them.
- I can't keep it at my new home so I'm throwing it away
- I can't travel so I'll throw it away
- Cats and dogs are abandoned because they are sick or old, etc.
You may have heard of the phenomenon of pet-hoarding recently, as it has been featured in online news. There are people who keep more animals than they can care for and are unable to let go of them, a condition also known as animal hoarding. It is said to be a mental disorder similar to that of people who create trash houses.
The animals multiply in poor conditions, and when homeowners fall ill, or in response to complaints from neighbors, they are taken to health centers or rescued by animal protection organizations.
That's one example, but what about other examples?
You should have thought about this before you got a pet.
Raising a living creature requires more effort and money than love.
Even if a pet was initially healthy, it may become ill and require years of care.
As they get older, they may develop more ailments and may become senile. Some cats live for over 20 years. They may vomit a lot, scratch their claws on the furniture, or cause allergies in the family.
However, we want you to think about whether you can live with your cat until the very end, without being distracted by how cute it is.
If you think you would like to live with a cat, be sure to check out local cat protection groups and attend cat adoption events.
Some of the conditions for adoption may seem strict, but we have seen with our own eyes that people who easily keep pets are also easily disposed of, and various measures have been taken to avoid this.
It's very difficult to entrust your life to a stranger.
I have tried to find foster parents myself on several occasions, so this experience hits home for me.
Kittens that were adopted from our home
It's a common story heard in the early spring of kittens being put in garbage bags and dumped at the dump.
That was also the case with Tsukuyomi and Futo in my family.
What, we were in the dumps?
Female cats can become pregnant from around 6 months of age, and if the environment is good, they can even give birth twice a year.
Cats are said to have first been domesticated in ancient Egypt, where they were worshipped as a cat goddess and became a symbol of fertility.
You may be thinking that if so many cats are born, there must be more stray cats out there. The average lifespan of a stray cat is said to be three years. First of all, it is difficult for them to become adults.
Many people believe that cats can live outside.
But can cats really live safely in a city built for humans?
They don't have enough food, they have to scavenge on human scraps containing seasonings, they are chased away if they enter a human's yard, and cars pass by on the roads. They are also at high risk of parasites and infectious diseases.
They are also often killed by people who actively seek to eliminate cats.
There are other cats who came to our home after being abandoned in a garbage dump shortly after they were born.
- Shimanosuke
- Weighing with cooking scales
- Princess Sabi
- Is this a cat? Maybe a bear or a raccoon or a mouse?
The kitten was rescued from a garbage dump near the home of a family member of a colleague of a client I was working with at the time, who was a cat lover.
There were five newborn kittens with their umbilical cords still attached. The family took them to a veterinary clinic and tried their best to save them by giving them milk, but when I went to collect them, only two of them were alive.
Although it had been about a week since it was born, it only weighed 100g. There were pus-filled swellings all over its body.
Fortunately, the baby drank milk well, the wound after the pus was drained healed well, and he grew up healthily.
Caring for a kitten is the same as caring for a human baby. You need to feed it milk every few hours, day and night, sterilize the bottles, and help it with excretion.
What's more, we have a cat in our house who loves to slaughter kittens...Ahhh!
I'll be taking care of your kittens (confident)
Namuchi is holding a young Kikuri in her arms. The litter box she is in is an unused kitten litter box.
I tried to find someone to take Kikuri and even attended adoption events, but no one was interested, so she ended up in my home.
First meeting...
Lick lick lick
"Uhh, I'm so tired."
Kittens won't use the toilet unless their bottoms are licked
Namuchi is a male cat, but for some reason he loves taking care of kittens. He surrounds them and licks them. He licks their bottoms to help them defecate. When other cats try to bother the kittens, he slides in and gets in their way.
I don't know why Namuchi became a nursing cat. Namuchi herself was a nursing cat when I found her.
Is it a bean daifuku? It's Namuchi.
This is my first time nursing my baby, so I'm not very good at feeding him, and the milk is quite dirty.
If I left him alone after drinking milk, he was a good boy and would sleep for 8 hours straight.
Namuchi also took great care of cats that came to us as "foster volunteers" who take in rescued cats from rescue groups. Rescue groups are always full of cats, and many of them are looking for volunteers to take care of them. A series of cats came to our house that were not yet friendly with people, but Namuchi would first keep them company, so we were able to keep them away from humans for a while, and then get them used to humans once they had settled down.
Kittens raised by Namuchi
This gray spotted kitten came to us through an acquaintance, and was then taken to Kyoto through a friend.
This kitten was found in the garden of my friend's family home. It was adopted by an acquaintance and is now being loved by the resident cat.
Even as Kikuri grows up, she remains attached to Namuchi.
This is the last photo of Shimanosuke and Sabihime, who were adopted after being raised like cats.
Shimanosuke and Sabihime were the first puppies to be adopted by a suitable home via a foster parent recruitment website.
We presented our conditions, visited the other party's home to check the environment, and set up a trial period, but it was very worrying to entrust our life to a stranger whose personality we didn't know. Fortunately, we were able to find a good home for the cat. I was so happy when I heard that the little girl, who used to always oversleep, had started getting up earlier than anyone else and was now taking care of the cat's food and cleaning the litter box.
If you come across an abandoned cat
My view is that if you can't ultimately take responsibility for it yourself, it's better not to get involved.
It's fine if you can keep it yourself, but I don't think it's a good idea to just get involved with it thinking that you can just contact a rescue organization. Ask a friend who has a cat? Outdoor cats may carry diseases that can be transmitted to other cats. Can you find someone to take it in yourself? Even if it's healthy, you may not be able to find someone to take it in. In that case, can you take responsibility for it until the end? Please think carefully before taking it in.
Once you have made up your mind to rescue the pet, first take it to the veterinary clinic. Then, do everything you can to find a site that is looking for a foster parent. (The site I used is Nekojirushi .)
About Chabuchikun
Chabuchi-kun followed me around all the way, rumbling and showing me his belly. He was a very interesting guy. I was worried that he might have a disease, but I was prepared to dedicate a room to Chabuchi-kun if necessary. He was a carrier of what is commonly known as "cat AIDS." It is not highly contagious, but it is an incurable disease. He likes humans, but fortunately he has no interest in cats and does not approach or fight. His nose was so stuffy that his mouth was always wide open, so I frequently gave him nasal irrigation. He also suffered from kidney disease, which is common in cats, and I gave him IV drips at home, but he passed away less than a year and a half after we rescued him. He loved having his belly patted, and even on the examination table at the hospital, he would purr and show me his belly.
As many cats as you can hold in your arms
My motto is to not keep more cats than I can hold in both arms, just in case (whether the cats will be able to be held docilely in an emergency is another matter).
In my house, my parents take care of the cat, so I have six human arms.
However, my parents are getting older, so I'd like to make sure the numbers don't go any further than they are now...
Life with cats is good.
Fluffy, yet with supple lines and movements... Cute when asleep, cute when awake, cute even when vomiting, cute from any angle...
And sometimes it gets in the way...in winter it takes over the futon and gets pushed into the corner...
Cat Puzzle
My side is open
I sleep in the gaps between the cats, so it hurts my body...but...I'm happy...I'm happy.
When I see my cat sleeping defenselessly, I feel grateful to the cat and to the people who helped him, and I am amazed that he managed to make it home alive.
It is a cat day where we pray that all cats and people can live as happily as possible.