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<\/a><\/p>\nCrazy for Songs about Cats<\/h2>\n– How did you first come to meet Bid?<\/h3>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been living with Bid since 1999. That makes her 15 years old – an old lady, really. During university in Osaka, I heard that someone I knew found a cat under the eaves. Since I had always wanted to get a cat, the story actually pushed me to actually get one. She was so small at first that she could fit in my palm. She literally came in a shoe box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor some reason, I used to be really attracted to songs about cats \u2013 if they were sang by women. And it didn\u2019t matter to me if they were Japanese or not. One example was Kahimi Karie. I was also attracted to products done in a cat motif \u2013 at least compared to dog-related motifs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSince it was my first time to care for a cat, I raised her in my own way. I went to a hardware store and bought a litter box. I then wondered how I could teach her to use it. But then, before I could start training Bid, she started using it all by herself. So I was very surprised at how smart cats could be. Not being the overly-friendly type, it might seem that Bid and I are like two individuals sharing an apartment. However, whenever she finds me discouraged, she\u2019ll come over and try to console me. Our relationship has always been very natural like that. And suddenly, I realize we\u2019ve been together for 15 years now. After I graduated from college, I moved to Kyoto and a few other places, but she took the moves well. She\u2019s not afraid of people and has a wonderful ability to adapt. This makes it easy on me.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cI guess that for dogs, you can buy them outfits and dress them up. But not for cats – some of them don\u2019t even like wearing collars. So I guess all cat-lovers must instead turn their attention to spending money on cat-related stuff (laughs). Actually, I once collaborated with a toy company to produced picture books and stuffed animals based on Bid. But I guess the character didn\u2019t look much like a cat because some kids referred to it as \u2018Kuma-chan\u2019 (bear). The story was about a cat that comes in a cake box to a girl\u2019s house. The girl then falls in love and does things like laugh and cry \u2013 and the whole time the cat is trying to somehow understand and make sense of the girl\u2019s actions. Once when I was crying, Bid came up to me and licked off my tears off. I included that experience as an episode in the storybook.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cIn a way. But not really as \u2018words.\u2019 It\u2019s more like we read each other\u2019s minds. When I work, she\u2019s always by my feet. We are like a community. When I get too busy, she gets a little ill. Now that I mention it, I think that I\u2019ve learned how to read peoples\u2019 minds by learning how to see what\u2019s going on inside of a cat\u2019s mind. Until I started living with Bid, I was not very good at reading the atmosphere. In fact, my friends tell me that I used to be quite inconsiderate. Luckily, living with a cat has changed me. Of course, changes in my living environment may be another reason for this. Bid can\u2019t be the sole reason behind my mental development (laughs).\u201d \u201cAs a child, my parents kept me from getting a pet. They said to me, \u2018Living with an animal equates to taking responsibility for it\u2019s life and death – can you really take that on?\u2019 Only once did they allow me to get a hamster. And when it died accidentally, I thought my parents would console me. However, they instead gave me a scolding. They said that it was my responsibility to take care of it and it died because I didn\u2019t do my job. Because I had learned my lesson, when I got Bid I decided that I would take responsibility for her life all the way to the end. And living with Bid has made me fond of all other kinds of animals. In addition to cats, I now find dogs and birds adorable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n– Why did you want to get a cat in the first place?<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n– How was it after you actually came to live with one?<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nTurning a love of cats into a passion for cat-related goods<\/h2>\n
– Recently, cat-related goods have become quite popular. Why do you think people get so interested in them?<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n– Do you think Bid understands your words?<\/h3>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nA cat that teaches us about the seasons<\/h2>\n
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