I think the birthday cat is the one who gets the tins piled on his head. He is called “Shiro,” and he is famous for his complete indifference to just about everything.
7 thoughts on “The Sunday cat has only just discovered Japan’s most famous family of cats”
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Feminist Philosophers 
Are those cats drugged? Either that or it’s a very hot day there. Those tins are stuck on in some way, you can tell on the one where Shiro has his head tilted. Very amusing though, very sweet!
My first thought, also was: drugged! On the other hand, we have one cat who pretty much lets us do anything we like to her (not unkindly, of course) so long as treats are in the offing.
There are a lot of suggestions on youtube that the cats smoke weed.
Apparently there’s a video about them posted every day.
It seems to me that Shiro has a thyroid problem. It would account for both the weight and lethargy.
I think we may have a huge cultural difference here. As far as I can tell, no one in Japan sees Shiro as having a physical deficit; rather, he is the perfect Zen cat.
I’m not really a social constructionist about the thyroid, but I think feline problems with the thyroid go in thevopposite direction. It’s also the case that Shiro doesn’t weigh as much as he seems to. He’s 9.5 lbs.
I confess I’d probably have him see the vet, but my worry would be a heart problem.
Maybe no one in Japan has ever had a cat with hypothyroidism. Feline hypothyroidism is rare, but it does happen.
Cats with hypothyroidism, which is very rare in cats, typically lose quite a bit of fur. Shiro seems to have a great coat.