A Visit to the Cat Cafe

Cat Cafe Nyanko
© J // Washing Rice Blog

With a sizable amount of the population living in rental properties due to exorbitant land costs for building a family home, owning a pet is often not an option.  But that’s okay, because Japan’s marketing experts have come up with just the thing!  For a small entry fee or the cost of a few drinks, you can chill, feed, pet, play, and take pics with cute and cuddly animals waiting for some lovin’s at dog and cat cafes all across the country.

Since I’ve long accepted that I can’t own every cat in the world, I’ve always particularly found the idea of cat cafes appealing.  Play and love on a bunch of kitties without the hassle of cleaning litter boxes?  Yep, that’s right up my alley!  Little did I know there was a cat cafe hidden on a street I often take to work, right in our neighborhood.

Owning a Pet in Japan: Where to Buy Premium Food

Maybe they exist in Tokyo or bigger cities, but in my area and most rural areas there’s a dire lack of pet stores.  Most pets and pet supplies are sold at home or DIY centers, and while they carry a wide range of domestic brands, most don’t sell premium dog and cat food I could find at Petco or Petsmart back in the U.S.  The only “premium food” sold around town is Royal Canin, which is really only premium in price, and not ingredients-wise.

With dogs, you might find it at little easier since the market still caters heavily to them.  But after we first got our cats, I was stuck feeding them generic stuff that was high in grains (not good for their health 😦 ) until I could hunt down some of the better brands high in meat or protein content.  So, I thought I’d pass on the list of stores I’ve come across that import or sell premium wet and dry food.

Owning a Pet in Japan: Is It For You? + Adoption Info

If you’ve been following along my other posts, you know that we have two cats that are our babies.  Hopefully you also remember that owning a pet isn’t easy if you’re looking for a rental property, because most rental properties do not allow pets.

One of our cats in her current favorite box.
© J // Washing Rice Blog

Despite that, pet ownership in Japan has steadily risen over the past couple of decades and the pet population currently outnumbers children! As of 2009 dog ownership still beat out cat ownership, but the gap is steadily decreasing.  While leased properties that allow pets are few and far between, that number is rising every year (albeit at the pace of a snail 😉 ).  For those who don’t lease, owning a pet usually isn’t a problem.