Panda, the River Cat

A stray who lives near the Tama River

When I first saw this cat, I thought it was a kitten because she was small. Her ear wasn’t tipped, which meant she wasn’t spayed, probably because she was still young.

 (Human volunteers capture stray cats, have them neutered or spayed, and then return them to where the volunteers found them. This program is called Trap, Neuter, Return, TNR. The veterinarian cuts the cat’s ear to indicate that it has been fixed so that people don’t have to worry about it making more cats.)

The cat lives along the bank of the Tamagawa River in Tokyo near the bike path about ten kilometers north of us. 

The cat’s friendly. We fed her, and it let us pet her. 

We felt bad for her because she liked people. We discussed bringing her to a vet to be spayed and possibly—maybe, very maybe—taking her home with us. Our cat, Kinmo, doesn’t get along with other cats, so the maybe was as maybe as a maybe can be. 

Several visits later, we met a couple who were also feeding her. They told us that the cat, who we called Chill because she was chill, but they had named Panda, was about eighteen years old. So much for our thinking she was a kitten. They also said that Panda had been spayed, but in a time before veterinarians cut the ear of fixed cats. And the best news was that they told us they visit and feed Panda every day.

Although outdoor life for any cat is hard, Panda is in a good location, next to a community garden and shrine. She’s got ample food (even without anyone feeding her), mice to chase, and shelter on rainy and wintery days. 

We’ll be back to visit her.

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Stray Cats of Japan is a photo newsletter featuring images of Japan’s stray cats, which I publish whenever a cute kitty crosses in front of my camera’s lens. I hope you enjoy these photographs.