Hiro Arikawa - The Travelling Cat Chronicles

Yoshimine was crouching in front of my basket.

‘Mind if I take a look at Nana?’ he said, peering in.

‘Sure, but it might take a bit of time for him to feel comfortable enough to come out.’

‘No problem.’

What do you mean, no problem ? I tilted my head in puzzlement and, just at that instant, a thick arm shot into the cage.

Hey, what—?

The fat arm grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and, without so much as a by-your-leave, dragged me out, then dangled me high up in the air.

Wh-wha-what the hell do you think you’re doing, you barbarian!

‘Good! He’s a proper cat.’

What the hell do you mean by that ?

‘Hey!’

Satoru, horrified, gave Yoshimine a healthy shove in the back. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’

‘I just wanted to make sure he’s a real cat,’ Yoshimine explained, holding me against him with his thick arm. I tried to kick myself free, but that thick arm just took my kicks and didn’t budge an inch.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Look, you hold him like this, see?’

‘Don’t hold him like that!’

‘If his back legs fold up when you do this, it means he’s a real cat.’

Let me go! I put my legs together and kicked off against Yoshimine’s arm, flopping around like a salmon. Finally, I was able to break free.

I twisted my body around and landed perfectly on my four paws. Keeping my belly low to the ground, I turned to meet Yoshimine’s eye, and he said, ‘Whoa!’ and clapped his hands.

‘One fine cat you’ve got here. Well coordinated, and smart, too. An outstanding cat. I underestimated him.’

‘Yeah, I guess so.’

That can’t be true. Of course I’m well bred, but still . Satoru interrupted, in sync with me: ‘But still – that’s not the point!’ Great minds think alike. ‘Why did you grab Nana by the neck like that? It startled him!’

‘The reason is, I found a stray recently that isn’t a real cat. If Nana turned out to be like that one, there wouldn’t be much point, from a farmer’s perspective, in having him. So I just wanted to check him out.’

This unpleasant guy came over to try to play with my tail, which I was waving slowly to show my displeasure.

I spun around, only to find an orange tabby male kitten beside me. He’d appeared out of nowhere and was meowing and trying to cling to my hooked tail. What a pain.

Yoshimine grabbed the kitten by the scruff of the neck and picked him up. The kitten’s legs drooped down in a line.

‘This one isn’t a real cat. See?’

True, this kitten didn’t seem equipped with the natural abilities of most cats. He was the kind – like Hachi – that would never catch a mouse. Even if he could hone his skills through training, he would never be a true hunter like me.

‘He’s still just a kitten, you shouldn’t treat him so roughly…’

Satoru reached his hand out, fluttering it in the air in a stop that gesture. Yoshimine thrust the kitten at him.

‘Here. Feel free to stroke him, if you like.’

‘I’d love to.’

Satoru was a dyed-in-the-wool cat lover, like I said. Go ahead and get all lovey-dovey with that kitten. See if I care.

IT HAD BEEN a long time since Yoshimine had received an email from his former junior-high classmate Satoru Miyawaki.

He had just been thinking about him when the email arrived.

After a few quick words to bring him up to date, Satoru issued his request.

I know this is a bit sudden, but could you take my cat for me?

He’s really precious to me , he went on, but unavoidable circumstances make it impossible for me to keep him, and I’m looking for someone to adopt him.

There were two things Yoshimine could read in this message.

One was that his cat-devoted friend had once more found a cat he loved, and two, that once again he was having to part ways with it.

When it came to cats, Daigo Yoshimine could take them or leave them. If there was one in the house, he’d notice it and look after it, but he wasn’t passionate enough about them to adopt one himself. He felt the same way about dogs and birds.

But having a cat on a farm did have its advantages. On farms, mice inevitably caused damage, and a cat was a pretty good means of control.

He tapped out a reply.

I don’t think I’d look after a cat the way you do – I treat them like cats, not like pets – but if you’re okay with that, I’d be happy to take him off your hands. If you can’t find anyone else, then let me know. Rest assured, I’ll make sure he’s looked after.

Satoru wrote back thanking him. I’ve promised to show him to one other person first , he said, but if that doesn’t work out, I’ll be counting on you .

A month later, Satoru wrote back again, asking if he could bring the cat over for Yoshimine to meet.

And, by coincidence, it was during this time that Yoshimine happened to find the kitten.

‘I was driving down the highway in my truck when I saw him lying by the side of the road like a limp dishrag. I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if I had just left him there.’

‘I see…’

Satoru seemed to melt with the orange tabby kitten on his lap. Cat lovers have a special place in their hearts for kittens.

‘You did a good job bringing up this teeny guy. Was it hard?’

‘I needed the vet a few times. But there’re other folk in the neighbourhood who have cats, and plenty of people ready to give advice.’

Because it was the countryside, people weren’t all that particular about the way they brought cats up.

‘It was a lot easier once he started eating cat food.’

Satoru burst out laughing. ‘I’m trying to imagine you feeding a kitten milk from a bottle. You’re lucky, aren’t you,’ Satoru said to the kitten, tickling him vigorously under the chin, ‘to be taken in by such a kind owner?’

‘I’m not that kind. I was hoping he’d catch a mouse or two around the place, but he’s not a real cat and I feel a bit let down.’

‘So, now that he’s recovered, are you going to throw him out of the house?’

Yoshimine looked put out by Satoru’s teasing tone.

Satoru stroked the kitten in his lap in contented silence. Then he said, ‘I get it now. That’s why you were asking whether Nana was a real cat or not.’

‘If I bring up two of them and they’re both useless, then all that cat food is a total waste.’

‘I knew you wouldn’t turn Nana down.’

‘Well, I can’t exactly refuse a guest who’s driven all the way here from Tokyo just for a cat.’

‘I get it,’ Satoru responded, as if he didn’t really accept this explanation.

‘By the way, what’s the kitten’s name?’

‘Chatran.’

‘That’s pretty silly.’

‘Is it?’

Yoshimine had asked around the neighbours who owned cats, and one person had said, ‘An orange tabby? That reminds me of Chatran.’ He liked the name and decided to use it.

‘Since that movie The Adventures of Chatran came out, it’s become a bit of a cliché to call an orange tabby Chatran.’

‘Hmm. I didn’t know that.’

And this Chatran with the silly name recognized a real cat lover and was fully relaxing in Satoru’s lap, stretching his paw on to Satoru’s cheek.

‘This brings back memories. I used to have a cat who did this.’

Satoru never named this cat he used to have to Yoshimine. He felt that if he spoke its name aloud, all the pent-up affection and sadness would break his heart again.

And even someone who knows nothing about the universal benefit of cats could understand that.