Hello. This is Kagawa from the Webmaster Support Department.
This time's "Work and Life in Kamiyama" is,
This is an article about the cuteness of my beloved cat, Ponzu (nicknamed Pon-chan), a girl with beautiful ear hair.
thank you.
Meeting with Ponchan
One day, I went to eat lunch with my boss, Kurihara, at a restaurant called Hidenoya in Kamiyama. After finishing my meal, I was taking a break when I overheard a conversation between the owner and a regular customer at the next table.
"I thought Mr. X's cat had disappeared somewhere. Then, the other day, she gave birth to four babies and came back home with them."
"It would be difficult to keep five of them, so they're currently looking for someone to take them."
(What? Nya-chan? Is the cat looking for an owner?) *Inner voice
Around that time, my wife and I were talking about wanting to get a cat.
I couldn't help but glance at the table next to me and eavesdrop on their conversation.
Seeing how strange I was, Kurihara said, "Do you want to keep a cat? Why don't you go and talk to her and hear what she has to say?"
I was confused and worried, "Wouldn't I really end up keeping a cat if I asked?" and "Is this okay?", but I decided to go for it and ask the regular customer.
That same day, I was able to visit Nya-chan (the mother cat's name) at her house and be shown the baby.
The black kitten lying on its back is Pon-chan. He's so cute.
The kittens playing around were so adorable that I took my wife back to see Nya-chan's kittens, and we decided to adopt the one who was the quietest of them all and would hide easily (later known as Pon-chan).
We agonized over the name and came up with about 15 names, but even after bringing him home we still hadn't decided on a name.
No matter what name I called it, nothing seemed to fit, so in the end, while I was eating hotpot, I saw some ponzu sauce on the table...
The name was decided because it perfectly matches the long fur and baby raccoon-like silhouette!
The silhouette is a raccoon
As mentioned above, he was a timid kitten at first, but now he has grown into a well-behaved, assertive cat.
Cats in Da House
I originally had a miniature schnauzer at home, so I've always been more of a dog person.
What made me want to have a cat was the existence of ``Shima-san'' who lives at my wife's parents' house.
Shima-san (his real name is Shimajiro) is a male brown tabby with a gentle personality, loves to be held, loves people, and will come when called even if he is far away, making him the perfect cat for beginners to cats.
My wife's cousin was also fascinated by Shima, and after his beloved dog passed away, he started keeping a cat. Shima is a real charmer.
A grandfatherly cat who is almost 20 years old.
Perhaps because of his kind nature, he was rescued after being bullied and abandoned.
My wife's family home has several cats, including Shima-san, and cats are an indispensable part of our lives. I've come to think that I want to live a busy but fun life, getting angry and laughing at my cats.
When I got home, there was a cat there!
Since we welcomed Pon-chan into our home, we are now able to live such a happy life.
5 cute things about Pon-chan
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Below is a corner that is simply cute.
When being spoiled, they make a "shaking" noise
Normally, cats purr to show affection, but when Pon-chan gets excited, he makes a high-pitched purring sound.
The tail is long and fluffy even in normal mode.
The plump silhouette is the best
If you throw a toy to him, he will pick it up and bring it back
I've bought a lot of different things, but my current favorite is rolled up aluminum foil.
Will you sleep with me?
(Photo left) Under the armpit (Photo right) On the stomach When I see your cute sleeping face in the morning, I don't know why I have to get up and go to work.
The long shot is nice
The hair around my face makes my face look bigger, which is great.
Bad breath incident
One day, about four months after we welcomed Pon-chan into our home,
Me: "Pon-chan, you're so cute, but don't you have a really bad mouth?"
Wife: "Really? But it's cute. So cute."
I noticed that Pon-chan's mouth smelled bad.
When I hold him and rub my nose against his, I can smell a fragrant scent...
Furthermore, Pon-chan loves to be held and play with the electric string.
When you do this, you can smell Pon-chan's ``kusa-kawaii flavor'' right in front of your face.
I guess that's the price to pay for being so cute. It's actually one of her charm points.
I thought about it,
One day, when I tried brushing her teeth, a cute baby tooth fell out.
I thought that was strange, so I looked it up and found out that kittens' breath tends to become smelly when their teeth are growing in.
"Hey, come on, if they grow all the hairs back, they'll just be cute cats...!"
Yes, before I knew it, all of his baby teeth had grown in and he was just a cute little baby.
(Photo on the left) The only lost baby tooth I was able to save. I wanted to complete my collection.
(Right photo) Pon-chan doesn't have bad breath, he's just a cute kid
Pon-chan's eyes...
One day, I noticed that one of Pon-chan's big, round, cute eyes had become cloudy and white.
Since the next day was a holiday, I decided to take him to the vet first thing in the morning.
The diagnosis was uveitis, a condition in which the membrane that covers the surface of the eye becomes inflamed.
Apparently the cause often remains unknown even after detailed tests, so we decided to have an examination once my child recovered, but the symptoms recurred after a while afterwards.
I was prescribed eye drops, but he wouldn't let me put them in.
In the end, I left it to my wife to put in the eye drops...
For now, Pon-chan seems to be in good health, but if she gets sick or seriously injured in the future, or even if she grows old and becomes an old lady cat, I want to make sure that she can live as happily as possible.
I was reminded that living with living creatures comes with responsibility.
lastly
When I was in the city, I never even thought about living with a cat.
I think the way I met Pon-chan is unique to the countryside.
Above, I listed 5 cute things about her, but to be honest, her whole existence is cute.
We update the cuteness record every day.
Although every day is difficult in many ways, coming to Kamiyama was worth it just to meet Pon-chan.
Long live Pon-chan!
KAGAWA YUTARO