Look at this beautiful cat -- sweet story, too

[Flaxbee]

Slideshow at link: http://www.halopets.com/freekibble/donation75.html

For the last nine years, Japanese photographer, Miyoko Ihara, has been taking photos of her grandmother, Misao Ihara, and her white, odd-eyed cat, Fukumaru.

Misao and Fukumaru share a special bond and go everywhere together. Although Misao is 88 years old, she still works in the fields, planting and weeding under the sun, with Fukumaru always at her side.

“When I see the way my grandmother is living her life, I really feel that she has a kind of strength that my generation simply can’t match,” Miyoko tells Nippon.com. “She gets up with the sun, and goes to bed when it sets. She loves her cat and the vegetables in her field like her own children.”

Fukumaru, who Misao found abandoned in a shed as a kitten, is almost deaf. In recent years, Misao herself has become hard of hearing too. Yet the two understand each other perfectly.

[marzipanni]

1. What a nice tribute to her grandmother and her beloved cat!

I would love to see them portrayed in a Hayao Miyazaki film.

[HopeHoops]

2. Cats easily learn sign language (whatever you use). I've taught several to sit,...

... beg, lie down, get down, jump up, go the fuck away, and come here for head scritchy scratches. Yes, you can teach cats and even herd them.

I love Fukumaru's different-colored eyes. Beautiful creature.

[KamaAina]

3. All-time favorite Japanese cat

Tama is the stationmaster at a train station in Japan that is no longer staffed by humans! People ridew the train all the way out to her remote town just to see her.

[hifiguy]

4. Aww. Sweet story!

And a beautiful kitteh!

[avebury]

5. Such a beautiful cat and loving owner. nt

[Bertha Venation]

6. Wonderful, wonderful.

Thank you.

[pink-o]

7. The Japanese have a real love of cats...

When I was in Tokyo visiting my cousin, she told me about "Cat Cafe's"... And no, it's not feline on the menu, okay??? The denizens of Tokyo have bistros where you buy a coffee and sandwich, then hang out with a bunch of cats. Really. You can spend as long as you like, and pet and cuddle them. The folks that work there swap the kittehs out when they need a rest, so you get to see different ones all the time.

We should start that here, have ASPCA Cafes!