So, yeah, cats. I have two of them. So, this article will mainly focus on them. However, unlike many renters in Japan, I am actually allowed to have animals. Hence, it falls to me to write an article about pet acquisition and appropriate pet care in Japan, given that I won’t get evicted should the wrong person come across this article.
Acquisition
I’m a huge fan of adopting strays . . . especially in Japan. There are two reasons for this preference. First, pet stores in Japan seem to be largely inhumane enterprises that stuff animals into tiny, minimally sanitary cages and sell them for outrageous prices.
Of course, if you’re a cat lover yearning for a Scottish Fold or a dog lover seeking a Corgi, you’re going to need to go to a pet store. However, you should be aware, that many of the “purebreds” are not papered, and I have no idea if animals are bred with the same rigor as required by the kennel clubs of various nations. So, you may not get what you pay for.
The second reason I prefer to adopt is that strays are handled very differently in Japan that in the U.S. Back home, a stray is taken to the Humane Society or other no-kill shelter, where they are cared for through donations and volunteer activities. In Japan (at least in my area), the city tosses strays into a furnace. So, if you adopt a stray in Japan, you save a life.
If you want to find a stray, you’ll need to do one of two things: (1) get a live catch trap from a local vet; or (2) regularly contact the place where they BBQ your local strays.
Medical Care
Before you adopt, make sure that you have a vet nearby. I’m fortunate enough to live about a three minute walk from one of the best vets I have ever met, so my cats get great treatment. For the most part, pets in Japan get the same vaccinations as in the U.S. For cats, DPV (distemper) and FLV (leukemia) are required vaccinations. Please get them because these diseases are a horrible way for an animal to die.
If you plan to take your pet back to your home country, you’ll likely need to get one more vaccination: rabies. Amazingly, rabies supposedly does not exist in Japan. Hence, your pet should be peachy without the vaccination. In fact, finding a vet with rabies vaccine can be a bit of a challenge. My vet had to have some shipped up from Osaka, and it was in a dosage meant for dogs rather than cats.
Alas, declawing is not an option in Japan. You can find places that will do it, but it is illegal. The rationale behind outlawing declawing is that a cat without front claws is more likely to bite if it feels threatened. It’s a crap rationale, given that front claws aren’t necessary for defense, but there it is.
One last thing: spay or neuter your pet. This is another thing that many people find cruel, but I’d rather tear out a uterus than hear my cats yowl and grind their junk all over my furniture for a few days every couple weeks during mating season. Furthermore, the failure to fix pets is one of the big reasons for the kitty BBQ.
General Care
To begin, you have to decide on whether your pet will be indoors or outdoors. If it is indoors, it will live longer (especially on the inaka’s narrow death streets). However, if it is outdoors, your apartment will live longer. For prospective cat owners, you should be prepared to say goodbye to your paper screens and doors. Additionally, your tatami will greatly suffer. To alleviate some of this, you can buy scratching posts, which are cheaper in Japan than in the U.S.
Additionally, you need to keep your cat stimulated so that it feels less inclined to eradicate all that you hold dear. So, invest in some cat toys. Little rabbit fur mice are insanely cheap, and cats love them! Mine love to play fetch with them as well, given us a lot of quality interaction.
Of course, food and litter are also important. Food is available from super cheap to outrageously expensive. Alas, I usually go with the latter, given that I’m not familiar enough with Japanese brands and don’t really feel like pumping my pets full of things that will not meet their nutritional needs.
As for litter, there are some great innovations in Japan. I started out with the classic litter box, which is messy, leaves sand everywhere, and smells like cat butt. However, I switched to Unicharm’s system about a month ago, and it is absolutely amazing! The system consists of a tray with what is essentially a diaper in it. The litter is suspended above the tray. While the diaper absorbs urine, the litter absorbs smells and desiccates droppings. The smell has declined drastically, clean-up is quick and sanitary, and changing out litter takes just a few moments. Plus, the monthly cost for a two-cat apartment is about half of what I was paying for traditional litter! I highly recommend it to anyone with a cat.
So, that’s about it. Not my usual offensive, tongue-in-cheek fare, but I hope it was informative. Oh, and if you actually caught the reference in the title, you are officially old.
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A third-year AET in Miyazu, Kyoto, Jarrad has megalomaniacal delusions of grandeur. He will take over the world because he is just that good.