# Japan still holds the cuteness crown - Cat story and pic **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 27, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-still-holds-the-cuteness-crown-cat-story-and-pic/450715 "2008-05-27T02:41:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-still-holds-the-cuteness-crown-cat-story-and-pic/450715/1 "2008-05-27T02:41:50Z")
In Japan, cats are good luck. When a train station ran on hard times, they hired a cat as station master. Here’s the adorable story: [Tama the Station Master](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080526/ap_on_fe_st/railway_cat) ---
**Author:** ![Leah\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@Leah\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leah_M)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-still-holds-the-cuteness-crown-cat-story-and-pic/450715/2 "2008-05-27T06:38:41Z")
I was rendered incoherent with cute for the first 3 minutes after clicking that link. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-still-holds-the-cuteness-crown-cat-story-and-pic/450715/3 "2008-05-27T09:39:17Z")
That’s one smart kitty-cat; she must’ve gotten the memo that she was about to be homeless, because I’ve never seen a cat willingly allow something to rest on its head for any length of time. 😃 That aside, I want to pet her to death! What a nice fuzzy story! ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-still-holds-the-cuteness-crown-cat-story-and-pic/450715/4 "2008-05-27T10:07:09Z")
Ah Mr. Conductor! Excuse me! Here, give me your chin… _:: a choo-cha choo-cha choo-cha ::_ What a sweet conductor. ---
**Author:** ![Leah\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@Leah\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leah_M)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-still-holds-the-cuteness-crown-cat-story-and-pic/450715/5 "2008-05-27T10:13:49Z")
[QUOTE=Audrey Levins] That’s one smart kitty-cat; she must’ve gotten the memo that she was about to be homeless, because I’ve never seen a cat willingly allow something to rest on its head for any length of time. 😃 [/QUOTE] Well, not quite a kitty, but… [Here’s a bunny with a pancake on its head.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oolong_(rabbit)) ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-still-holds-the-cuteness-crown-cat-story-and-pic/450715/6 "2008-05-27T13:29:49Z")
Cat food? Pshaw. They ought to be feeding her sashimi. I can’t believe it hasn’t been pointed out that’s no tabby. That’s a calico! ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-still-holds-the-cuteness-crown-cat-story-and-pic/450715/7 "2008-05-27T13:40:35Z")
Tama, meet [Rambo](http://www.wptv.com/content/specialreports/story.aspx?content_id=5343f32d-8cc9-4265-bf67-b319302fbcce), the taxi cat. He doesn’t wear a hat, but I bet he makes up for it with tips. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-still-holds-the-cuteness-crown-cat-story-and-pic/450715/8 "2008-05-27T13:58:09Z")
Could be a trend. There was a cat wandering around the platform of the Shinkansen in Kyoto this afternoon. I have never, ever seen an animal inside a JR station before. (My friend and I were theorizing that it had to do with some rather gory red splotches on the front of a train on an adjacent track.) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-still-holds-the-cuteness-crown-cat-story-and-pic/450715/9 "2008-05-27T14:04:56Z")
What happens if stationmaster kitty spots tasty animals on the trackbed just as an express comes through? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-still-holds-the-cuteness-crown-cat-story-and-pic/450715/10 "2008-05-27T14:06:58Z")
Should have named the cat Skimbleshanks, surely.