Shiro-chan Inspires Story in The Japan Times Dec 29!

Shiro-chan and ARK in The Japan Times Today!

In June of this year, Tokyo ARK received a call from a man who saw a sick, stray cat in a park and wanted to help the cat. The man turned out to be journalist, Ian Priestly. He wrote this article.

Please read the article in The Japan Times here: Stray Observations on Booming Pet Culture

Shiro-chan

Background Information on the story:

This is the cat that Ian saw, Shiro-chan. We learned of Shiro-chan’s story through the dedicated volunteers who work at the park. Shiro-chan was left behind when his owners moved out. His owners lived in an apartment bordering on the park. The volunteers had him neutered, and Shiro-chan lived in the park, behind the housing where his owners once lived, through cold winters and hot summers.

Through this small and aging cat, we were able to meet both Ian Priestly and Kishi-san, an amazing volunteer who works hard to keep other stray cats healthy and safe and makes sure all the cats are spayed and neutered. It is truly a pleasure to meet such dedicated and kind people.

The best news is that, as of last week, Shiro-chan has a home! Sadly, it was also discovered that he had cancer on his ears and both ears had to be removed. However, he no longer has to worry about keeping warm or being the target of abuse. It seems fitting that Shiro-chan found a home, just as news of this article came out. Thank you, Shiro-chan and everyone who helped him!

Tokyo ARK would also like to thank Meguro Hokenjo and Katori-san for their help and advice.