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Buddhist monks cultivate cat haven at Fukui Prefecture’s 'Kitty Temple'

6 Comments
By RocketNews24

Here’s a familiar saying: “In Ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped as gods; they have never forgotten this.” Certainly in Japan, cats are still given a huge amount of respect, with entire islands of moggies being given free roam to peacefully exist in their own little kitty ecosystem. Of course, things aren’t perfect, and stray and abandoned cats are a sad reality in Japan as much as they are in many other countries.

But today we’re here to appreciate the happy cats of Gotanjo temple in Fukui Prefecture, who are lovingly tended to by Buddhist monks and fawned over by the adoring tourists who come to visit. You can even get a special kitty cat fortune and see what’s in store for the coming year.

Gotanjo Temple is so well-known for its plethora of feline residents, it’s now unofficially been dubbed “Kitty Temple” by visitors and local residents. The monks feed and care for the cats, who spend their days either lounging around on top of the "omikuji" (fortune) stands or trotting after the monks hoping for a tidbit.

If you’d like to see the kitties in action, check out the video below shot at the temple, where you can see the cheeky cats begging tourists for treats, snoozing on benches, and sniffing at the camera.

If you’re in need of some extra special good luck for the coming year, or if you simply love to look at hordes of fluffy, contented kitties, then be sure to add a visit to Kitty Temple to your travel itinerary next time you come to Japan.

Source: Togech.jp

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6 Comments
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Cat Cafes seems more humane. Video isn't informative as to the health conditions for these cats. Hard to tell if this is a cheap tourist stunt or if some real benefit for these animals is maintained. Sad actually.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

These cats looks like stray ones people selfishly abandoned.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The question remains, is this a cheap tourist trap - or - are these beautiful creatures looked after?

The idea of any religion using animals as a bait for donation is disgusting. Note how no one from the all mighty temple says a word about caring for these beautiful creatures.

Another religious lie to cop some dough.

There's a bet, not one of these oh so pious faithful will describe the care they give to these sweet animals. That's just prostitution, cat flesh for donation. Better step up and prove these lovely animals have a place and a care for their health.

Typical. Don't question the marketing line, it's none of your business. Sick. How sad. Those poor animals earning money for falsehood.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

To be fair, most of the cats appear to be in good shape, and they're obviously very friendly around people, which they wouldn't be if they were abused at all. There was a shot of a kitty with a bandage on its leg, which presumably indicates that someone in the temple had taken the trouble to treat a wound.

A few of the moggies begging from visitors appeared to be a bit moth-eaten, perhaps indicating they needed a little more attention. And another thing that bothered me was that none of the males appear to be neutered, promising a population explosion come spring, preceded by lots of cat fights and more cats needing wounds to be bandaged.

And I wondered what the visitors were so gleefully feeding to the cats. Not all human food is good for cats.

I'm glad I don't have to go to a temple to get my cat fix.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

the cats are still better off here than running loose on city streets

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Thanks to my employment on ships that i did manage to visit a few Japanese ports including Tokyo. I was amazed at the Japanese fascination for cats and in fact took a liking for cats after my last visit to Tokyo in 1995.Today i am a "Cat Man" owning two traditional Persian cats.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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