The Japanese Twitterverse has been sharing some handy tricks for rescuing our feline friends in times of emergency.
What to do when you’re walking down the street and you hear the sudden meowing of stray cat?
It’s probably a good idea to contact the appropriate animal authorities regardless, but in certain times of emergency, it may be faster for you to initially deal with the situation by yourself as long as the animal has no outward signs of injury. In fact, the Japanese Twitterverse has recently been spreading a simple idea to make rescuing the animal in such a situation easier: When rescuing a cat, use a large mesh washing bag. There’s less chance of it escaping, and many cats feel safer inside.
Interestingly, one of the first groups to tweet this trivia was V系×どうぶつ愛護 VISUMAL, a visual kei band whose mission focuses on spreading awareness of animal rights issues and rescue efforts:
【猫の避難時には洗濯ネット】
— VISUMAL 中村 (@n_visumal) April 15, 2016
災害時の避難や病院の時などは洗濯ネットに猫を入れましょう。脱走の恐れが格段に減りますし、ネットに入っていた方が落ち着く猫さんもいます。ポイントは「大きめの洗濯ネット」小さいと引き裂く可能性有です。 pic.twitter.com/24UzNfplC1
We never expected to see the combination of visual kei and cute little kittens, but it’s pretty awesome.
The band’s official website even gives suggestions on what to do in case you find abandoned puppies or kittens, and provides information about how to adopt rescue animals.
▼ Some of the band’s “graduates” (i.e., adopted rescue animals)
Several other Japanese Twitter users also voiced their love of the mesh washing bag, as seen in the following posts:
▼ @satuma_h also advises uses washing bags in times of emergency or as a general place for your own kitties to curl up on, as the bags smell like you/your clothes, something familiar and relaxing to them.
https://twitter.com/satuma_h/status/721165506053406720▼ Responders to natural disasters have even used this trick, with stellar results.
猫を保護する時は猫が好む狭くて尚且つ体を傷付ける可能性が少ない洗濯ネットを使うとよい
— 樂壱(ウニクロ) (@rakuichirakuthe) March 23, 2016
震災はその事を僕らに教えてくれた pic.twitter.com/jDXbbbo5w1
On a related note, another Twitter user suggests gripping your cat under its armpits and swaying it gently back and forth during earthquakes so that it mistakes the ground shaking for your swinging, therefore calming it down.
猫が地震でびっくりしているときは、猫のわきの下に手を入れて支える形で抱っこして、ぶらぶらと揺らしてみてください。「なんだ。揺らしてるのはお前だったのか」という顔をして落ち着きます。ネットで得た知識だけど、うちの子たちには効果的だったので、試してみる価値はあると思います。
— 野良さん@抗菌肉球 (@blue_noracat) April 14, 2016
What other handy tricks have you learned over the years? Share with your fellow animal lovers in the comments section below!
Source: Twitter/@n_visumal
Top image: Twitter/@n_visumal
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