Stealth feline does a perfect job of stealing the limelight from beautiful rock garden.
Shrines and temples in Japan are known for their quiet, nature-filled grounds, which provide the perfect atmosphere for people to pause and enjoy moments of repose and reflection. And it’s not only humans who are drawn to these peaceful surroundings, as members of the feline world have been known to show a fondness for these holy places of worship too.
Recently, one cat decided to take a stroll through one of Kyoto’s most famous temples, but instead of sticking to the designated walking paths, it decided to do what any respectable feline would do, and walked right through the carefully manicured garden.
A visitor captured the moment on film, saying, “At Tofukuji’s garden yesterday. Typical cat, walking through the dry landscape garden without ruining the gravel. Bit plump though.”
Watching the video, it’s undeniably impressive to see just how nimble the cat was, regardless of its weight. Like a stealth ninja, the cat appeared from behind a rock and made its way silently across the garden, swiftly placing one foot in front of the other without shifting its gaze.
On both circular and linear gravel formations, the cat never put a foot wrong, leaving its path clear of pawprints so no one would ever know it had been there.
▼ Employing the “If-I-can’t-see-you-then-you-can’t-see-me” technique.
As any cat owner knows, the moment a human has its gaze fixed on something is the exact same moment when a feline will decide to plonk themselves right in the middle of whatever is grabbing their attention. There were a number of visitors at Tofukuji, gazing out at the dry landscape scene, but this cat definitely succeeded in stealing the limelight from the beautiful rock garden.
Judging from images shared online in response to the video, it’s not the only cat to love the warmth and serenity of a gravelly garden.
This photo, taken at Kamakura’s Meigetsu-in, shows the trail of a cat that hasn’t yet reached peak-level ninja.
Tofukuji Temple was founded in 1235, and the beautiful serenity here certainly has a special appeal for humans and cats alike. If the staff are anything like the cat-loving monks at Fukui’s “Kitty Temple”, then all ninja cats are sure to be welcomed with open arms in future…as long as they don’t mess up the gravel.
Source, featured image: Twitter/@shiru3_fe