I met cutest little stray kitty this weekend!

This weekend went up to the north of my island for a farwell BBQ and ocean beach dip for those foreign teachers leaving Japan this week. It was a pension where one could rent cabins and they had. I chose not to stay (no one to watch Aya) and only paid for the BBQ.

We were in the middle of eating when a smalll moocher came up to join the party under the picnic tables.

No collar, although it would readilly approach people to take food it did not want to be otherwise touched. It seemed relatively healthy for a stray and was the most unusual color. I don't know cat colors and I didn't want to scare it by taking pics. It was so dark my flash would have gone off. I don't know cat colors but as far as I could tell It was a creamy gray lynx-point snowshoe! It had the kind of coloring most people pay big bucks for in a purebred cat.

I could not tell if it was very small adult due to being stray (and Japanese cats tend to be smallish) or simply a large kitten.

How I wish I could have caught it and taken it home. It clearly trusts people at least for food. I got the impression that if it was not somebody's cat, it was at least an experienced moocher at the campground. But my apartment is so small and last time I brought home a kitten Aya wanted nothing to do with it (she attacked me).

Well at least the kitty seems to be well fed! He sounds gorgeous!

It is my impression that cats are liked by the Japanese. It is why I like the Japanese. On my visit there last March, all the strays I saw were quite healthy. They were not as friendly as your stray but I noticed that the Japanese would give them a share of whatever food they had or would try to pet them. Not once did I see a cat being shooed away with a stone or a shout or a kick.

Originally Posted by yayi

It is my impression that cats are liked by the Japanese. It is why I like the Japanese.

On my visit there last March, all the strays I saw were quite healthy. They were not as friendly as your stray but I noticed that the Japanese would give them a share of whatever food they had or would try to pet them. Not once did I see a cat being shooed away with a stone or a shout or a kick.

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They like them but they are not altogether onboard about spaying and neutering. The rate is down around 30percent, whereas the USA it is about 70 percent. Lots of people feed the cats, but without fixing them the population just multiplies. Animla control rounds up about 12,500 a year holds them for 5 days and euthanizes them. Only about 900 are claimed or adopted.

They also have few rescues/shelters here. the few I am aware of OOARS on Okinawa and the Japan Cat Network were founded by and largely run by foreigners from western countries. Those cats that are 'owned' by people are often treated as outdoor pets whereas the dogs get to live inside with the people the cats are allowed to roam or live entirely outside.