Video shows the cats panicking before the tremors start.

On 18 June, Osaka was hit by the strongest tremor to hit the region in decades, with the jolt dislodging crockery and furniture in households, and causing damage to buildings and major transport delays.

Some of the region’s furry residents were also affected by the quake, and their interesting reactions to the tremor were captured on this security camera at CAT Cafe CATchy in neighbouring Wakayama Prefecture.

▼ Take a look at the video below:

The video, which begins a few seconds before the quake, shows a typical day at the cafe before opening hours, with cats curled up in their favourite spots. A few seconds later, though, there’s a noise, which causes the kitties to raise their heads. While there’s no tremor yet, some of the cats sense something’s about to happen, and scramble for cover.

▼ The white-and-grey cat on the ground in the middle seems like it’s not sure whether the other felines are overreacting to the noise or not.

A couple of seconds afterwards, it’s clear that the cats weren’t overreacting, and might even have experienced an event like this before, as things begin to shake and all the cats on the ground quickly bolt for safety, setting off a chain reaction that sees the room come to life with jumping cats.

Given that these felines haven’t undergone disaster preparedness training like many of their human companions, it’s interesting to see their individual instincts kick in, with some leaping for the high spots, others ducking under furniture, and one small black cat running around the middle of the room.

Thankfully, none of the cats were injured in the incident, which ended with the largest kitty in the highest basket of the room plonking itself down on the floor, as if to tell the others it’s time to stop their monkey business.

If seeing these cats has tugged at your heartstrings a little, you’ll be happy to know that they’re all searching for forever homes, with CAT Cafe CATchy offering an adoption service for all the cats in their care. Thankfully there are now more and more cat cafes in Japan that want to give kitties the best they can in life, by turning their establishments into rescue cat cafes.

Cat cafe information
CAT Cafe CATchy / 猫カフェ キャッチー
Address: Wakayama-ken, Wakayama-shi, Nobutoki 147-13 Wakayama Grand Building 3F
和歌山県和歌山市延時147-13和歌山グランドビル3Ｆ
Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Website (Facebook page)

Source: Biglobe News
Featured image: YouTube/猫カフェキャッチー　地震