There are ten million cats in Japan living as pets, but Tokyo alone has approximately 60,000 stray cats. Four years ago, James R. Jones, a retired photographer, found a stray cat outside his house in Japan. The cat was covered in fleas and ticks, and his skin was so badly infected that it felt like stone.
He decided to take the cat in and named him Chataro. The first thing he and his wife did was take the kitty to the vet. When you take in a stray or feral cat, this is an important first move. James and his wife found out that, besides the obvious health issues, the cat has feline leukemia and severe infections in one eye and several of his teeth.
Chataro the cat underwent surgery and still needs daily treatment for his eyes, but, luckily, the hardest part is now behind him, and it clearly shows. Chataro the cat is a happy and loving cat, always ready to cuddle. But this kitty was not always like that.
Socializing a cat like Chataro was a challenge at first because he was a cat who didn’t trust humans. It took a lot of kindness, care, and treats to make this kitty feel comfortable around people. James says that Chataro is his best bud now.
“I work from home, so we’re always together in the same room, where he sits on the desk staring at me, and from time to time climbing into my lap when he thinks I need a break or there might be the chance of a treat for him”, he said.
Chataro is a snuggle monster now, but it wasn’t easy to socialize this kitty. He was surprisingly docile from the get go. He was terrified of everything and everyone, so whenever we had to pick him up he’d just go limp. We kept him in a large cage for the first month, and although the door was never shut on it.
He spent all of the time huddled into one corner of it. We spent endless hours sitting by the door trying to coax him out with treats and kind words, but it still took over a month. Time wasn’t isn’t a problem, and money has to be spent on something, so why not a little cat in need?
The lucky one in all this is me – I can’t tell you how happy he makes me”, James says.
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