If Called by a Panther

By Richard Trombly

In this column, I write about my life and experiences in the Kansai region of Japan. Since June, when I was adopted by a young kitten, that experience has involved sharing my house with a Japanese cat.

I woke and turned on the coffee kettle and padded to the bathroom, barely awake. On my way back to the kitchen, I suddenly felt three rapid taps upon the top of my head. That is the daily method in which my cat Kame-chan informs me that I have been pawed by a puma and therefore did not survive until breakfast. I look up and he is upon the water pipes running near the ceiling to the water heater.

My cat, Kame. Well, he thinks he is a leopard. Photo courtesy of the Japari Library

This happens every day. Not just before I am fully awake, but anytime during the day. While I am passing any of the various high points in the house, I might be “pounced” by the triple-tap of the delicate paw with the razor-like claws, carefully sheathed.

Living the High Life

How did this little jungle beast learn to always gain the high ground? I had put up a shelf for my laundry supplies and even when the kitten was only ankle-high, he was jumping onto the laundry machine and then hopping onto the supply shelf. Of course, I learned about this only while hearing the kitten making a delightfully satisfied mewling in its throat (Hey Dad, guess what I can do!) amidst the clatter of clothes pins cascading to the floor. I went to the laundry room in time to watch the box of detergent make its own path to its demise.

Kame keeps my shelf free of useful things like detergent bottles. Photo credit Richard Trombly

Just days later, I found him on top of the 6-foot-tall dish cabinet in the kitchen. I realized that I had better make some accommodations to our home. I purchased some carpets from the local 100 yen (dollar store) discount shop and made a sling “hammock” suspended from the clothesline under the skylight in the laundry room (pictured below). This is another perch from which I am often pounced by a panther.

Kame imagines he is a jungle panther on his hammock under the skylight.

The Panther
By Ogden Nash

The panther is like a leopard,
Except it hasn’t been peppered.

Should you behold a panther crouch,
Prepare to say Ouch.

Better yet, if called by a panther,
Don’t anther.

Kame catches a “squirrel on a string” toy from his shelf.

Lord of the Land

Since Kame’s sling was easy and made no alteration to the apartment, I could put it up without consulting the property owner. I however also made a corner shelf for him with another bargain carpet piece. This meant adding a step shelf for him to launch himself from. This certainly requires getting the landlord’s permission which can be exceedingly difficult in Japan. Luckily, I have an unusually easy-going landlord.

Kame enjoys hopping up to this high shelf on his corner perch.

It is, in fact quite difficult to find a residence that even allows animals. If you want to have an animal, it is necessary when apartment hunting to search for places that are “petto sōdan” ペット相談 (pets are negotiable.) Some advice on how to find pet-friendly apartments or homes is to look at places more than 10 minutes walk from a subway or rail line, older buildings or city suburbs. Don’t lie to landlords and try to conceal altering your rooms or having pets, as it can get you immediately kicked out and losing your deposit money.

While I fill my bath, Kame does his own grooming.

For Kame to quench his primeval spirit, even being able to run up and down stairs in our two-story home and his shelves and hammock, it is not enough. He wants the window into the bathtub room open. He supervises filling the tub and then gives himself a bath while I take mine.

With all of these options to play the lord of the jungle, he is happy most of the day while I am working at the computer. But sometimes he calls me from the second-floor with urgent meows as if he is trapped or injured. I will go upstairs only to find him prepared to spring upon his unwitting prey.

I must learn that, if called by a panther…