Category Archive

The Japan Times has done a great feature on Japan Cat Network, one of AwF’s greatest supporters.

For anyone who has wandered the streets of Japan, the sight of a woman carrying her designer-clad lapdog will be a familiar one.

Also familiar will be the sight of a dirty, scrawny cat, perhaps covered in bloody sores and missing clumps of fur, running for cover in the nearest nook or cranny.

It doesn’t take an animal lover to realize that cats are widely neglected in Japan, and foreigners here often wonder why that is and what is being done about it.

Read the full article

The Ministry of the Environment reports that 160,000 dogs and 240,000 cats are killed by public authorities every year in Japan (source). That’s an average of 438 dogs and 658 cats killed in Japan EVERY DAY. The majority of the cats that are destroyed are kittens. Cats who copulate have an almost 100% chance of becoming pregnant and a cat can have kittens two to three times per year. Since there is a tendency in Japan not to have cats spayed or neutered, this problem has become outrageously out-of-control.

I’m sure that I am not the only one on this list who gets a sick feeling deep inside hearing these statistics. I hope that we can all work together to try to educate the public about having pets spayed or neutered and being responsible pet owners.

(Japan Cat Network is one organization that is working to solve this problem. Please visit their website for more information. And do consider donating to support their humane trap drive.)

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.