Cats

Ok. Cat haters can skip this post. There were a couple of questions about cats so though I certainly don't know much more about cats than my own I'll see if I can enlighten anyone to cats in Japan.

QuiltingFitzy wanted to know if cats are bigger in Japan than in America. Actually I've never noticed so maybe not but then again, if anyone looked at my cats they would probably say maybe they are. I thought cats everywhere were the same size and comparing my mother's cats in California and my own I'd say their bone structure is the same size. Three of my cats though are big and Patora is huge (I've got to do something about that). Right now the problem is that I'm trying to feed Lemi more and so anytime she looks interested I open a can of food for her. However, the other cats come like buzzards and the second Lemi looks up or loses interest the rest of them finish off the food. I'm spending a lot of money feeding cats who are way too overweight anyway! I had always thought that cats would stop eating when they were full, whether food was out for them or not, but not Patora. She eats her food, everyone else's food, breaks in to potato chip bags, cookie boxes etc. Very Fat Cat! So Quiltfitzy, the answer is yes and no.

Calico Cat wanted to know if Japanese still tie knots in cats' tails. Still? I never knew they did! I'll have to ask my vet about that one but I don't think a cat would let you do that to them would they? I have heard that some people thought that cats tails were bobbed but that too I think is just a story. Is it true that all Calico cats are bobtailed? Anyway, the brown, orange and white cats, what Americans know as Calico cats, are always female and usually have a naturally short tail. They aren't clipped. As for the tie a knot in the tail, I have noticed that most neighbors' cats and even my own have a kink in their tails. It looks like the tails were slammed in the door or something. I think this must be a Japanese cat trait. Even if you can't see the kink, if you run your hand along the tail most Japanese cats have a kink somewhere in them.

Of course there are all sorts of cats around Japan, in all colors but by far, the black striped "Tabby" is the most common. I've got two and sometimes when I'm out walking and see a tabby I have to look twice to see if it is one of mine that has gotten loose.

And a last bit of trivia. The most popular name for a cat in Japan is Tama. I think this means ball and maybe refers to cats tendency to curl into a ball.

(Patora is the orange cat. Her brother Cleo is a bit smaller but not by much recently. Pato and Cleo both have kinks in their tails near the tip. Lemi is our oldest cat and very fluffy. She looks big but actually under all that hair there isn't much there. I'm trying to fatten her up. And this is a nice picture of Velvet. He looks so much like Cleo we have to look at the collars to tell them apart, but they are not related. The marble filled container is the cats' drinking dish)