Spikes are no match against Japan’s supercats!

Before I moved to Japan I had no idea cat-deterrent spikes (called neko-yoke no togetoge in Japanese) were a thing, but plastic spikes are commonly sold at 100-yen shops and can be seen around neighborhoods here, along the tops of fences, in front yard gardens, on top of air conditioning units – basically anywhere people don’t want outdoor cats loitering about. They are also effective in keeping indoor cats off of certain furnishings or out of other out-of-bounds areas of the house.

Or, at least, it used to be effective. But it seems that cats here have become immune to the spikes, gradually building up a resistance to the prickliness, if these accounts on Twitter are any indication.

We can see in some cats a neutral reaction to the presence of spikes, working their way around them and at times even accepting some direct contact.

▼ “Kitty trying so hard to get the tuna on top of the cat deterrent.”

https://twitter.com/Lizzy_nyanya/status/803555661569138689

▼ “Ummm, what does cat deterrent mean again?”

https://twitter.com/meshiko18/status/738004959497621504

▼ “Cat-deterring spikes from the 100-yen store. My cat doesn’t seem to mind them.”

https://twitter.com/ArtemisBlue_WoT/status/606428442792296449

▼ “Look at this. We’ve grown to love him but when he first started appearing my mom put these spikes down, and he just calmly walked through them.”

There have even been signs that some cats may even enjoy contact with the plastic spikes.

https://twitter.com/write_jun/status/613282623520006144 https://twitter.com/write_jun/status/613282195885572096 https://twitter.com/iPon17/status/692284964394631172

▼ “My mom bought spikes to keep the cats away. I touched it and it was pretty painful, but the cats don’t seem to mind it at all.”

▼ “Yes… They’re sitting right on top of the cat deterrent.”

https://twitter.com/kisuketyatya/status/781688163873935360 https://twitter.com/SHIKI_momizi/status/785410821341917186

It is likely due to prolonged exposure to the spikes over generations that the cats of Japan are mutating into supercats as a method of survival. Prolonged exposure to humans seems to be affecting the cat population as well, with sightings of cats working in office environments and wearing kimono. Since the only real side effect of this is cuteness in more places, no one seems to be too worried about a potential outbreak.

Source: NAVER Matome 
Featured image: Twitter/@kisuketyatya