Author Archive

My super market has a dog food sale every 11th (wan-wan), and a cat food sale every 22nd (nyan-nyan). Another home center near us does it instead on the 1st and 2nd. Are these kind of pet food sales widespread in Japan? Please let us know in the comments.

Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America is the last book in a long, long time that I couldn’t put down. It starts with a short history of the movement in the US to stop animal abuse in the mid 1800’s. Then it moves through how the organizations which we entrust with animal welfare have come to a conclusion. The conclusion is that there are too many cats and dogs, far more than people could ever want as pets and so most of them must be killed. According to the author the number of cats and dogs killed annually by animal shelters in the US has reached 5 million.

Nathan J. Winograd, a lawyer, and animal shelter director in US, challenges many of the assumptions held by shelter directors and staff in the United States. He built on the achievements of others to develop
a way of sheltering that says healthy cats and dogs do not have to be killed for lack of space. In short, he does it by first unplugging from the cushy million dollar contracts to kill animals on behalf of the city and country. Then to develop high volume/low cost and free spay neuter programs, stop euthanizing feral cats, start TNR programs, expand adoption and fostering programs, capitalize on volunteers, and build a staff that believes the public are an asset not a liability.

Winograd has many critics and detractors. If you believe him, the major organizations have used propaganda to undermine his credibility and distort his results. I had many questions as I read through this. Still I found it challenging and inspiring. I’d recommend it for anyone interested in any way with animal welfare.

Regarding the Asahi Shinbum article about stray cats in the Yanaka area of Tokyo:

I believe it is wise to scrutinize these kind of stories a little heavier than the media would tend to.

There is a sociological term called “broken window syndrome” which states that “if disorder goes unchecked, a vicious cycle begins.”

If an area becomes known as a place where there are free-roaming cats, it will become known as a place to throw away cats. And with about 80% of the cats and dogs being killed by the authorities (Hokensho in Japan) actually being puppies and kittens surrendered by owners and irritated neighbors, that makes a lot of cats ready to be thrown away every day.

Among the top 10 most influential animal experiences I have had in Japan, (sometime ask me for the full list of ten) was encountering a woman in my town stuffing live kittens into a plastic bag in preparation for throwing into the river. According to her, this was a yearly neighborhood occurance, and sure enough when I first saw her, there were 2 other neighbors helping with the roundup. Local stray cats would have kittens in her shed and that was their way of keeping the issue at bay.

In any place where many cats are running around, allowed to breed unfettered, for the pleasure of some - there are also people tearing out their hair because of the bother, nuisance, smell, noise, food stealing behavior, or ghastly sight of the sick and dying. And a neighbor, or neighbors, may start to take the situation into hand.

A concrete block is fun to rub against. (Try it sometime.) If you have outside animals they will rub against it and that will add to the cornucopia of smells you will let your cats tangle with. The texture is also great for them. If you have sick cats in your neighborhood, then cancel all this advise. You don’t want to import sneezes and eye infections.

To cats, smells are like going to an art museum, or better yet to see Pink Floyd the Wall. Look for ways to bring in interesting smells even if they will last for a short time. Sometimes we will take a big cardboard box, freshly picked up from the supermarket and sprinkle in mata tabi (Japanese cat nip). That is a nice toy for a couple days - then recycle it.

In our house, the cardboard scratching boards don’t last long. What we have done is wrap rope or twine around a wooden post. That allows them to scratch, and climb. Inside cats miss climbing. We also created runners so they cat actually run above my head.

For a more inspiring version check out the Cat’s House.

In general, l feel that letting cats go out greatly shortens their lifespan. (And worrying about why they didn’t come home will shorten yours.) The greatest danger seems to be cars. In spite of that, we do allow some of our cats to have an inside/outside life. We have some cats that were likely born outside and grew up outside. Though they have gotten friendly with us, even sleep on our bed sometimes, they have not tolerated inside life very well — or got along with other cats in an inside-only community. We felt our only choice was to allow them outside.

If your cat has not yet tasted the pleasure of the world beyond the genkan, I would not let them out. Instead, find ways to bring the outside in. Cut them some grass or green bamboo stalks and leaves. Watch them eat it up, and then likely vomit it out to clean their stomachs. Get a concrete block and leave it outside for a couple weeks. Bring it in, watch your cats sniff and rub against it. Give them a place in the sun or an open to air window to enjoy inside, that they can not escape from. If you have a veranda or a little garden space (lucky you!), look for ways to enclose it. You can give your kitties a little piece of paradise: include a dead tree to climb, remove dirt cause they will certainly do their business there.

If you have other ideas, please share them in the comments.