Category Archive

Taisho is a purebred 1-year-old Bengal male. His story is, unfortunately, a typical one. He was purchased at a pet shop and, later, when his owner became pregnant, put outside and expected to live out of doors 24 hours a day. He was fed dog food. A kind-hearted neighbor took pity on the bewildered kitten, who spent all his time under an old car in the backyard. At 6 months of age he was taken to a rescue as the owners obviously had no interest in him. Taisho loves people and craves attention round the clock. He is quite a talker and will sit on your lap and carry on a conversation with you if you like. He is go, go, go and only settles when he is put to bed in his cage for the night. With the right family, Taisho will surely become calmer. But he will always likely be a chatty, slightly demanding, but very sweet and friendly beauty of a Bengal.

(Photo by Susan Roberts)

Interested in Adopting Taisho?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by editing and printing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

The following article is from the Japan Times. David and Susan are members of Angels with Fur. I hope that our group can help them with this important work.

The Japan Cat Network, a grassroots animal welfare group in Shiga Prefecture organized and run by David Wybenga and his wife, Susan Roberts, has put out a plea for help with its Hirakata City Project. Initially featured in The Japan Times on Jan. 26 of this year, the network was asked in March to check out a park near the city of Hirakata, located between Osaka and Kyoto.

The situation at Yamada-Ike Koen was dire, utterly shocking. More than 50 cats, in various stages of health and disease, were found roaming the park. There were no signs of a TNR (trap, neuter, release)
program such as Japan Cat Network promotes, and none of the males appeared to be neutered. Two of the park cats were so ill that they had to be taken to a vet immediately.

In April, the group trapped 28 cats, most of them female, and had them neutered. More trapping is scheduled for this weekend and the following week. Wybenga calls the project “amazing”, one that he believes has the power “to change public perception in Kansai”. “Of all the projects I’ve been involved
in, this is the one to get behind.”

In the meantime, five kittens, then 2 weeks old, were found abandoned in a cardboard box in a park restroom. Two were already dead. Three survived and are thriving and being fed every four hours. This past Monday, four more kittens were found abandoned. One had already died. These kittens and others were all taken in.

“Busy and sleepy,” the Wybengas have their hands full. “Once we finish one round of feeding it’s almost time for the next.” And, with presently 11 kittens on the bottle, the network is out of money and in desperate need of help, but determined to keep the project going.

The group is in need of experienced kitten fosterers, loving adoptive homes, money and milk replacement powder (Esbilac for cats). Also, Wybenga says, “if someone is in the area and wants to
participate more directly, contact me.”

Contact info[AT]japancatnet.com by e-mail or check out the group’s homepage at http://www.japancatnet.com.

Esbilac can be sent to:
David Wybenga,
173 Inae,
Hikone, Shiga,
521-1125

Neeta may look familiar to regular readers of this blog. Indeed, she is the sister of Tetta, a special-needs kitten who found a home in late February. As an abandoned kitten, Neeta, like her brother, suffered terribly from the cold and lack of food before being rescued. Their eyes were damaged, but both kittens, with medical attention, are showing great signs of improvement. Neeta, now 6 months old, has been very shy, but has finally come out of her shell. She is quite the friendly little soul and would surely make a lovely addition to a caring home. Neeta needs someone who can look beyond her foggy eyes and see the warm and curious nature of a gem of a kitten now ready to bravely explore her new world.

(Photo by Kyoko Harada)

Interested in Adopting Neeta?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by editing and printing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

Green-eyed lady Gigi could well be described as something of a sugar loaf, weighing in at a hefty 5 kg… not all muscle. Nonetheless, she is a stunning beauty. About 4 years old, Gigi has been at ARK for two years now, after being rudely ousted from her home when her former owner, keeping pets against the rules, was ‘‘outed.’’ Gigi is a princess currently living in far from palatial surroundings. Alas, she does her best to adapt and insists on taking afternoon naps in her favorite sleeping basket. She will give the shelter workers a friendly pat with her paw as they go about cleaning her kingdom, though it is not so much a playful pat as one that says ‘‘Good work, team. Don’t forget to clean in the corners.’’ Gigi is a sensual creature. She loves to (and lives to) eat, sleep, and play. A people lover, she’ll hop on your knee for a cuddle and purr. Gigi does get along well with other cats, but only those who totally understand that her favorite sleeping basket must absolutely be made available for her and her afternoon naps. No commoner, this friendly, companionable lady would be sure to (as the old song goes) help her new owner soothe ‘‘every wave that comes.’’

(Photo by Kyoko Harada)

Interested in Adopting Gigi?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by editing and printing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

The Japan Times and Tokyo ARK have given Angels with Fur kind permission to reprint notices regarding pet adoptions (see: potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site). In addition to requests for adoption, they also publish success stories about pets who find new homes. Here is the latest success story.

Lan, a 10-year-old Shiba, was first featured in the Feb. 9 issue of The Japan Times. She, as most older animals are, was passed over at the ARK shelter for many long years until she was welcomed into the hearts and home of the Tange family. Above, Aya, 14, daughter of Denise Tange, chums with a very happy-looking Lan (now known as Lani) in her new Tokyo home. Lan is enjoying four walks a day and play sessions in the park. Still, she is always happy to return home. Says Denise, ‘‘She recognizes the house and whenever we come back from a walk and get near it, she wants to go back in. If I try to walk past, she stops and refuses to move.’’ Lan has also won hearts at the office, where Denise hopes to bring her twice a week. Duties will include ‘‘letting people pet her and give her snacks.’’ Well-behaved and kind-hearted, Lan is described as ‘‘perfectly balanced’’ with ‘‘a sense of humor.’’ Denise says, ‘‘We are thrilled to adopt her. We just want her to be as happy with us as we are with her.’’ The Japan Times and ARK extend heartfelt thanks to the Tanges for bringing love and comfort to a decidedly young-at-heart, very dear, old(er) dog.

(Photo by Denise Tange)

Interested in Adopting a Pet?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by editing and printing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

I posted earlier about the ten commandments of dog ownership, but of course someone has also come up with the ten commandments for cat ownership. Not surprisingly, cats are a little more demanding.

1. I am the Lord of thy house.

2. Thou shall have no other pets before me.

3. Thou shalt not ever ignore me.

4. I shall ignore thou when I feel like it.

5. Thou shalt be grateful that I even give thou the time of day.

6. Remember my food dish and keep it full.

7. Thou shalt spend most of thy money on toys and gifts for me.

8. Thou shalt always have thy lap ready for me to curl up in.

9. Thou shalt shower me with love and attention upon demand.

10. Above all, thou shalt do anything and everything it takes to keep me happy.

What is the ideal location in your house, from a cat’s perspective?

In honour of the Day of the Cat (February 22: pronounced “nyan, nyan, nyan”), the What Japan Thinks blog translated a survey on your cat’s favourite places to be. I’m not really sure how they got the cats to answer the survey…

Sotai (操体) is a kind of holistic medical practice that involves keeping four things in balance (breathing, food, movement, and thoughts). You can read more about the concept of Sotai on the Teizan site. According to that website, “a cat is the master of Sotai” because she doesn’t just wake up and start moving, but rather starts slowly by stretching.

Just a little something for the many cat lovers here…

One of the Aw/F members brought this to our attention recently:

Thanks to my new ipod, I recently discovered a program called Pet Life Radio. The programs are quite interesting and cover a wide variety of topics.

Anyway, tonight on the “vet” program there was a story about a company called Allerca making hypoallergenic cats. I personally, found the whole thing rather bizarre. The “top of the line” cat is not only hypoallergenic but is a mix of two exotic breeds. It only costs $28,000. He said many of the
cats, including the cheaper ones, are “sold out.” And dog lovers don’t worry. Apparently they are “making” hypoallergenic dogs for 2009.

Did you enjoy the videos we posted of two chatty cats? The first two really do look like they’re conversing with each other. And most of the several other related videos are really great as well.

For me as one interested in languages, the neat thing was comparing the sounds that different cats made under the same situations. For example, most cats, when seeing a bird or similar object of prey, utter a kind of stuttering “meh-eh-eh-eh” sound. I think of it as meaning “prey” or, by extension, “food”.

And I’ve noticed that when cats are hungry and asking to be fed, they tend to consistently make a certain kind of sound.

I first noticed this with Mikan. When she was plainly asking for food, she’d ask (with a rising intonation), “Yow-WOW?” When she became old and had lost her upper canines [can felines have canine teeth?!], it sounded more like “Yah-RAHR?”

I am convinced that this “food” question is what a cat is actually saying when — to us — he/she seems to be saying “hello” (which they pronounce — if not as “yah-RAHR or yah-WOW” — as “ha-RO” or “ha-RAO”, like Japanese schoolchildren) — especially because, face it, a cat is MUCH more interested in enlisting the aid of a canopener-capable human than in the niceties of greetings.

While Mikan used “Yow-WOW?” and “Yah-RAHR?” to ask for dinner, Momo has always used “MEH-eh?” But both of the cats seemed to understand both “words”. You should have seen their faces the first time I repeated their words. Their spines stiffened, eyes rounded, and faces took on an expression of “Omigosh, our owner can actually speak comprehensibly! Humans may not be as dumb as we thought!”

Try it yourself: say these words, slowly and distinctly, to your cat and see if you don’t get the same astonished reaction!

In the first video Toby tipped us to, the two cats were talking about something called “ao-KEH”. The first speaker (the cat on the right) seems to be inquiring about the possibility of ao-KEH (whatever that is), and the other cat responds, using the same “word”; and they discuss the subject a bit. Somehow I don’t think ao-KEH is food (perhaps because desire for food seems always accompanied by urgency), but without further clues one can’t make much of a guess.

Momo watched this video several times, and many of the others. She seemed keenly interested in what the cats were saying in neko-go, as if she were following the thread of the conversation and comments.

She also gets absorbed in animal-related shows on TV. Tonight we watched “Garfield 2: A Tale of Two Kitties” together. (Great flick, by the way; good clean fun, interesting story line, fantastic animal handling and animation and computer graphics, plus very enjoyable voice overs by Bill Murray, Bob Hoskins, Tim Curry, others…)

Momo was quite intrigued by the wide variety of animals and birds (throwing in some MEH-ehs when the ducks and geese were on-screen). But I was very interested to note that when Garfield — a portly orange-tiger cat — was on-screen, Momo was riveted. Mikan was a Garfield-looking cat, and she and Momo lived together for almost 11 years.

When I’ve occasionally said to her, “Mikan?”, surprisingly Momo has gotten far more alert and questioning than when I use a cat-language food word. I think Momo is still wondering, sometimes, why Mikan isn’t here, where she has gone… We’ll have to wait until Rainbow Bridge to see her again.

(The suffix “-go” means “language” in Japanese, so the title of this post means “Cat language for beginners”.)

O’Malley’s story is one of incredible perseverance. On the streets of Nagoya, he cried for food for a week. No one took him in. One day, perhaps feeling he had but one chance left, he followed a woman up her apartment steps, walked straight through her front door and collapsed in an exhausted heap. He was skin and bones, dehydrated, his fur dirty and matted. Luckily, that person took pity on him. Since then, O’Malley, about 8 years old, has been cared for and grown into a beautiful cat, engaging and charming — a cat who will be sure to grow on you. (From the Japan Times weekly photo box)

Interested in Adopting O’Malley?

Please email ARK at tokyoark@arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

I understand the importance of genetic research, but I do wish we could learn about ourselves without inflicting harm on the animal world.

I mean, I understand that it is important for us to learn how to treat human genetic diseases, but when a side product of that research is glow-in-the-dark cats…

And the nature vs. nurture argument certainly bears investigation, but when that leads to fearless mice…

I suppose these are two examples where the animals themselves are not necessarily being harmed, but they still make me feel uneasy.

Original

Translation

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.

This article describes a part of Tokyo where cats seem to rule.

Yanaka, a shitamachi (old downtown) area that retains the atmosphere of the Edo Period (1603-1867), is known for its cats.

As the sun sets in the west, cats seem to materialize from nowhere and gather around (1) Yuyake Dandan steps, which descend from near JR Nippori Station to the Yanaka Ginza shopping street.

In nearby alleys, even more cats roam around. The area also boasts quite a few places related to cats and shops that have adopted cat motifs. This is a place where cats and people live together. Welcome to the “town of cats.”

>>Read the rest of the article: Weekend Beat: Fans of felines find Tokyo’s Yanaka area the purr-fect place to visit

It would be interesting to find out if the cats in the area are being cared for properly. David, from Japan Cat Network voiced his concern when he read this article:

It may be cute and all that but sounds more like loads of cats running around reproducing out of control and not really looked after. Not spayed or neutered, not vaccinated, not de-wormed. No reasonable diet, no shelter from the elements. Since Japan is a country where un-neuterd cats are quite likely to encounter FIV-AIDS, then that is another concern. I’d feel quite a bit different if there was a group there making sure a humane situation existed for the animals but since it is not mentioned in the article, and such groups are so rare anyways, I would assume most of these cats are on their own. Come spring they must have a real explosion of kittens born, likely to die right out there on the street.

This is indeed a concern. I wonder if someone who has visited the area or who lives around there might be able to give us some insight. Are these cats being taken care of, or are they just left to fend for themselves and reproduce wildly? Are the people in the area aware of the dangers of FIV-AIDS? Does the neighbourhood collect money to spend on the medical needs of the cats? Please report in the comments if you have any information on this topic.

Also, it would be nice to know that the cats who are “working” at the cafes and other establishments are being treated well. Has anyone been to one of the cafes? Some cats can’t get enough attention, so this kind of arrangement might seem like heaven to them, but other cats prefer to be left on their own. Is it clear that the cats in the cafes are happy?

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.

One of our members recommends the book The Cat Who Covered The World: The Adventures Of Henrietta And Her Foreign Correspondent. (Also available through Amazon.co.jp)

From the Amazon review:

Christopher Wren belonged to Henrietta the cat, and Christopher Wren travels far and wide in his work as a foreign news correspondent. Of course Henrietta insisted on being brought along to Moscow, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, and all the other cities the Wrens visited. And of course Henrietta got into all sorts of scrapes — cats can cause enough trouble right in their own living rooms! The Cat Who Covered the World is a tremendously entertaining memoir and travelogue, covering 17 years in the life of a busy cat and her accommodating family.

Here is an excellent video (set to The Cure’s “Love Cats”, which if you squint your ears sounds just like “lolcats”) that will give you a sense of the lolcats phenomenon.

Many cities and towns in Japan have a policy of subsidizing the costs of having cats and dogs spayed or neutered. The city often sets aside a certain amount of money for this sort of subsidization per year and then when the money runs out, they stop providing the subsidies. If your pet needs this kind of operation, be sure to contact your city government to find out if it offers something like this. Also, you might want to do it earlier in the fiscal year (in the months following April) rather than later so that you have a chance of benefiting from the subsidy.

Here is an example of one such program in Adachi-ku, Tokyo. (It is the latest post on the page, so it is currently right at the bottom. If you can’t find it, use the “search” function in your browser to find occurrences of “Adachi-ku”.)

I know that Tsukuba, Ibaraki also offers this kind of subsidy, but I recently read that the funding is running out for this year, so if you want to take advantage of this program, contact the City Hall soon!

Is this what mornings are like in your house? (<– Click to watch an animated video.)

My cat has a cat door and she always has dry food in her dish, so she is usually pretty good about letting me sleep in the mornings. However, occasionally, she will get it into her head that I need to be awake to witness her eating in the morning. In this case, her favourite tricks are:

1. Trying to pull down the kakejiku (hanging scroll) that is just above the head of my futon.
2. Knocking small objects off my desk or toiletry area.
3. Lying on my chest until it becomes difficult for me to breathe.

I think this is pretty standard cat behaviour. Does your cat have a special way of saying “good morning” to you?

Facebook is a social networking site where you can get in touch (and stay in touch — this being the key) with your friends. I have been amazed at how many long-lost friends I have found through Facebook. People from my elementary school whom I haven’t thought of in over 20 years — but remember fondly nonetheless — are getting in touch with me and letting me know how they turned out. It’s really fun.

Catbook is a Facebook application that lets you enter a profile for your pet and then let him or her make friends with other pets and humans. (Yes, there is also a Dogbook.)

This article explains the application and its history: Facebook with Whiskers

I showed Catbook to my own little feline friend but I confess that she has not shown any interest in the application just yet. Perhaps my explanation was somehow deficient.

I found this video about the funniest Japanese pets of 2004 when I was searching for something else. Japanese TV has all sorts of ranking shows, so I might be able to find other examples of this kind of thing if I dig around some more. It seems like this segment might be from a New Year’s special or something. (I tried to embed the video in this post, but it didn’t work, so please click on the above link to watch it.)

Here are the winners.

5. Tape Dog
4. Big Stick Dog
3. Sit-up Walrus
2. Dancing Cat
1. Floating Dog

When I was out shopping this weekend, I noticed that poinsettia season has begun in stores in Japan. (Sales of Christmas-related things seem to start earlier and earlier every year. Hallowe’en hasn’t even happened yet!) That reminded me of a topic that was covered on the Angels with Fur mailing list in December 2003: Are poinsettias poisonous to cats?

While some of the members thought that they were, the consensus was that they are not necessarily toxic, but they can be “highly irritating to the gastrointestinal tract” (see: My Cat Ate a Poinsettia, Now What?). The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals supports this position, as you can see in the Toxicology Brief they published in the November 2000 issue of Veterinary Technician (p.630) entitled Tis the Season to Be Informed: Toxic Potential of Holiday Plants (pdf). In the brief, the ASPCA suggests that your cat may exhibit “gastrointestinal (GI) irritation, including hypersalivation, vomiting, and diarrhea” after ingesting a poinsettia, but that you may be able to reduce the seriousness of the symptoms by giving the cat water or milk.

If your cat eats poinsettia leaves, keep a close eye on her and perhaps try to feed her some milk or water. If you are worried about her condition, take her to your vet to be sure that she is okay.

(Angels with Fur is not associated with any veterinarians, so the advice presented in this post should not be taken as official medical advice for your pet. Please consult your veterinarian if you have any questions regarding the content of this site.)

In addition to its daily segment about dogs, Fuji TV runs a short segment about cats on Saturdays around 8:20am. The segment is called “doyoubi no nyanko”, or “Saturday’s Kitty”.

They also made a movie called “nyanko the movie” which was based on some of the cats that were featured in these segments. I would like to watch the movie, but I remember seeing a preview and thinking that I probably couldn’t make it through the sad parts (and since it is a movie about pets, I’m sure there are sad parts). If anyone has seen it, please tell us whether we should watch it!

Apparently neko nabes are quite popular in Japan these days.

Makes me want to go and buy a full-sized nabe for my little furball. (I’m sure she would probably prefer the small one even though there is no chance that she would fit. Ever notice how cats have difficulty admitting to their size?)

I have heard that cats do not mind if their horizontal living space is small-ish as long they have a variety of vertical heights to choose from. Japanese houses and apartments are definitely on the small side, but you can compensate for the lack of horizontal space by making sure that your kitty has some good vertical space to play in.

One good way to provide vertical space, without taking up a lot of your own, much-needed horizontal space, is to install a cat tower. The only problem with cat towers is that they can cost a lot of money — usually more than 10,000 yen, which can be more than you might want to spend on vertical real estate for your feline friend.

If that is the case, you might want to have a look at the Cat’s Haven site which has a list of sites that will help you design and build your own cat tower (see the sites listed on the left-hand side of the page).

If you have succeeded in building your own cat tower, please tell us about it on our mailing list.