My surrogate pet in Tokyo
26 Aug
Dear reader, I think by now you would have realized I am dog crazy and I’ll probably grow old with a bevy of pugs in my stinky old woman’s house.
But in the past year or so, I’ve grown very fond of cats, a dog person’s nemesis. What changed my mind, or rather who did, was little Rocco.
Isn’t he so adorable? He is actually my student’s cat and he loves taking English lessons. Sometimes he would lie on his back listening to us or purr by my side on the sofa. He’s Scottish, you see, and apparently doesn’t mind my Singaporean accent.
While many Japanese prize their toy dogs, there are probably an equal number who have a cat fetish. In fact, I see a lot more cats being featured in Japanese movies and anime. I’m not sure why the Japanese cat is much more in the cultural dialogue here but it is for some reason.
Rocco is like my student’s baby and she has stopped going on vacation because he gets depressed when he is left alone with a cat sitter. He has also been anchored into posterity by having his own book. My student’s husband, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, wrote a fictional story of a cat and used a photo montage of Rocco to accompany the text. He penned this book when he had to stop working because of his illness but wanted to keep his mind active.
I was touched that my student would show me something so personal.
No related posts.
this touched me.
Yeah I’m lucky that most of my students are like my friends and they share quite a bit of their personal lives with me.
When you say scottish – does it mean it is a scottish fold? It looks like it with the short ears. Very cute! I have two very social birmans
I looked up Scottish folds on Google and Rocco does look like a fold…but he seems a bit fluffier than than the cats I saw.
omg, he’s so so adorable!! i’m usually a dog person too but this photo is so tempting me to switch camps!
And he’s sort of more dog-like sometimes…always up for tummy rubs and cuddles.