Clarence The Three-Legged Kitten, Plus: Happy New Year From A Cat Cafe In Tokyo

Fellow blogger Molly Hunt is fostering a special little guy who’s recovering from an amputation.

Blogger, cozy mystery cat writer and foster parent Molly Hunt has opened her home to a special little guy, and following his progress is a good reminder of the great work so many cat lovers do — walking the walk, as they say.

Molly’s charge, Clarence, is just a kitten but he’s already had a really rough go of it:

“Clarence, a six-month-old kitten, came to the Oregon Humane Society with a 1.5” round wound on his right hip. Tests traced its origin to a mass attached to the bone which may have occurred when a previous fracture healed badly. The left hip had also been affected by the trauma. The upshot was surgery on the left hip and the amputation of the entire right leg. Two days later, the call went out for a foster parent, a call that I happily answered.

It had been several months since I’d fostered a cat, and I was excited to begin again. I have a designated foster room with a pleasantly equipped kennel where I’d cared for many cats with mobility issues. I thought this one would be similar—limited movement, no running or jumping, and a twice-daily set of physical therapy exercises. I wasn’t worried about the fact he had only three legs. I’ve seen tripod cats who got along just fine, not limited by their disability as humans tend to be. I understood this would be a new experience for me, but I forgot to take into account that it was a new experience for Clarence too.”

Molly writes movingly about Clarence, his trauma upon waking up to find a leg missing, and the way he’s quickly adapted to his new situation. Cats are incredibly resilient, especially when they have the love and care of a good human to help them along:

Clarence was shocked to find out he no longer had a back leg. I’ve rarely seen cats react with that sort of complete panic. It’s usually caused by a loud noise such as fireworks or something unexpectedly crashing to the ground. This was different. This was Clarence’s own private terror.

Despite his initial shock, Clarence has been learning how to get around on three legs and he’s even gotten back to playing with his favorite toys. We wish Clarence and Molly the best on their journey together and if Clarence doesn’t end up as a foster “fail,” we hope he finds a forever home full of support and love. Click here to read parts one, two and three from Molly.

Happy New Year From Tokyo

John Mayer brought some feline fun to the New Year’s Eve festivities this year when he called in to CNN’s broadcast from a cat cafe in Tokyo, amusing Anderson Cooper to no end:

The cafe is called Cats In The Box and it’s located in Shinjuku. I’ve got some photos of the exterior of the place from my time there — unlike the cat cafe I visited in Roppongi, Cats In The Box has prominent, floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over one of Tokyo’s busiest neighborhoods, so you can’t miss it. From the street you can see the furry residents climbing their cat condos and chasing toys as if they’re saying “Come on in, join the fun and buy me some of that good ‘nip, will ya?”

Japan is famously in love with cats, and in addition to having several cat cafes, Shinjuku also boasts a famous 3D billboard that features a cute calico padding around and meowing in between advertisements.

Click to play the short video below:

9 thoughts on “Clarence The Three-Legged Kitten, Plus: Happy New Year From A Cat Cafe In Tokyo”

  2. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there’s already an onslaught of anti cat stories out. The latest is a New Yorker essay by Johnathan Franzen, the well known bird ethusiast. The article is behind a paywall. There’s also a report by some nature conservation org – I don’t recall the exact name – that states cats have extincted thousands of species. 😦

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. I started writing a post about the Franzen story a week ago but never got to finish it due to Christmas, family gatherings, etc. The study blaming cats for extinctions is another meta-analysis of old data and several of its authors are previous collaborators of Peter Marra, author of the original bunk cat studies and the book Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of A Cuddly Killer. Marra argues for the extermination of all free-roaming cats.

      Franzen will never win an award for brevity. Not only does he wink and nod as he makes TNR volunteers look like nutters, he goes on and on in excess of 10,000 words, taking some 60 paragraphs to get to where I knew he was going, the Marra studies.

      It’s funny how Franzen dismisses all TNR research with a wave of his hand, then does quick and dirty back of the napkin calculations to claim cats kill 2/3 of all avian young in the US annually.

      It’s amazing to see ostensible adults dismiss one set of studies as bad science while promoting another set of studies that are deeply flawed, cherry picking data to support their view while ignoring/trying to discredit the rest. The right answer is that we need more research on all aspects of species conservation, as well as feline ecological impact and the effectiveness of methods like TNR. To date the D.C. Cat Count is the only legitmate effort to establish population numbers to enable sound policy decisions.

      At a certain point I feel like I’m beating a dead horse and people’s eyes will glaze over if I write yet another post about studies and statistics.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. To Quilpy. Eff all of those anti cat aholes i say. Including those who say cats are the number one invasive species. HUMANS ARE. Or are cats responsible for animals being on endangered species list?

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  6. Clarence has the best possible care with Molly! She does alot for cats, and I love her books, too! So funny about the cat cafe broadcast. I’m so out of touch with what’s going on in big cities, I didn’t know they had 3D billboards now. 😎 Cool!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

Leave a comment