In the important world of Internet hierarchy, the battle between cats and dogs for the title of cutest animal is a fierce one. But someone must have told the dogs that they are losing because there are some canines out there with some inferiority issues so severe that they become frozen with fear at the mere sight of a cat. Japanese netizens are feeling nothing but pity after seeing a video of dogs, many of whom are much larger than their feline foe, timidly trying to tip-toe past a scowling cat.
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Perhaps we were wrong about cats being secret geniuses plotting to overthrow the world. This video, which is receiving a lot of attention in Japan today, suggests that there is at least one member of the feline federation that is perhaps a few strands short of a cat’s cradle.
When two-year-old Chai here spots a plastic bag on the floor of her owner’s apartment, she is naturally keen to investigate. Little does she know, though, that once she climbs inside it, the bag will simply refuse to let go…
There’s been a lot of unsettling news coming out of the Ukraine this week, so we are pleased to offer you a much happier story from the city of Dnipropetrovsk, southeast of Kiev, about a singing dog and a street musician.
It’s about time cats did something for us. We’ve pampered them on the Internet and in convenience stores for years, and all they ever did in return was learn how to poop in the litter box.
Cats are finally giving back now with these cute but somewhat disturbing smartphone stands that depict various cat breeds heroically holding up your smartphone so it won’t topple over.
Japan has a number of sleeping arrangements that can be jarring if you didn’t grow up here. Sleeping in a futon on the floor, often in a space that doubles as your living room and/or kitchen, can take some getting used to. A surprisingly large number of pillows sometimes come filled with, by Western standards, unusual things such as buckwheat husks.
But you know what? Maybe we’re being too picky. As Shiro the Cat shows us, all you really need for a good night’s sleep is a cooking pot, and, if you’re looking to get really luxurious, a sweet potato.
The Japanese Internet is going crazy over recent Finnish photos of a group of bear cubs who appear to be dancing around in a circle, reminiscent of the age-old nursery rhyme “Ring Around the Rosie”.
Valtteri Mulkahainen, a 52-year-old Finnish photography hobbyist, says he thought he was imagining the bears dancing around, even going so far as to say the scene was so magical he wouldn’t have been surprised if they had begun singing. Given the man’s situation as he took the now-madly circulating photos, we can’t blame him for momentarily believing he was living inside of a Disney movie.
When wildlife researchers in Kochi Prefecture set up an unmanned camera in a local forest to find the cheeky wilderness creature stealing honey from an animal trap they’d set up, they probably expected to find a clever squirrel or some other creature too small or quick to set off the trap door.
Instead, what they found in video footage was what can only be described as real-life Winnie the Pooh turned to petty crime to fund his hopeless honey addiction.
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t like penguins. Between their flightless wings and pudgy physique, there’s something inherently funny about them, which is juxtaposed and amplified by the way they look like they’re constantly dressed in formal tuxedos.
But perhaps the most comical thing of all about the monochrome birds is the stubborn dignity they show by standing at silent attention, even when surrounded by onlookers at a zoo.
Unless, that is, there’s a butterfly to chase.
Every dog owner has experienced it: you want your dog to sit, speak, roll over and maybe shake, but your pooch has other ambitions. Bigger dreams. He wants to join the fire brigade (you know this because you taught him to speak), but you’re worried about your little buddy’s safety.
Finally, though, you can let your doggy chase both his tail and his dreams with this adorable doggy flame-retardant suit. Join us after the jump for more adorable photos!
A video uploaded to YouTube earlier this week has been causing quite a stir amongst web users in Japan today. In it, we see what appears to be a homeless man in China’s capital city asking for money from passersby on the street.
Rather than simply holding a cardboard sign asking for spare change or sitting on the ground with a paper cup like, sadly, so many are forced to, this man has a rather neat trick for generating a little extra cash: he has trained a small bird to fly into the hand of those donating their yuan and bring the coins back to him one by one!
There are few things quite like the bond between a human and their pet, and most of the staff here at RocketNews24 can’t even begin to imagine life without their respective pups and feline overlords, but there are some animals that we definitely wouldn’t recommend keeping at home–particularly those on the endangered species list.
According to a recent NHK news report, a man living on the Japanese island of Tsushima narrowly avoided prosecution after it became clear that he had secretly kept a wild Japanese leopard cat in his home for 15 years before he was forced to seek assistance. As angered as the authorities were, however, they ultimately decided that they might learn from the man’s experiences and are due to talk to him about how he managed to keep the animal alive for such a length of time.
This year’s breakout anime hit Attack on Titan snuck up on a lot of people. Sure, previews for the TV series made it look like a fun adventure, but is wasn’t until sometime after it premiered that the franchise became the international success it is today, despite the comic it’s based on having been around since 2009.
Why didn’t more people, from the very beginning, realize just how much entertainment Attack on Titan has to offer? Maybe the story’s antagonists, naked giants who look like anatomy textbook illustrations, were just too repugnantly grotesque. Maybe, being creator Hajime Isayama’s first serial, the artwork on its heroes was a little too rough around the edges. How much more immediately accessible would Attack on Titan have been if they had all been replaced with a more traditionally pleasing aesthetic, like a bunch of cute cats?
Thanks to this feline-infused recreation of the show’s opening animation, now we know.
Thankfully the following images, which popped up on Japanese textboard site 2Channel earlier this week, were all produced using image sites such as PicHacks in order to create a symmetrical image from an existing photo, and are not of real-world creatures genetically engineered by nefarious scientists. Some of them will, however, most definitely be coming after you in your dreams tonight.
So come with us now as we step into the world of creepy evolutions and nightmarish creatures. And they said facial symmetry is a mark of beauty…
We’re so jealous of cats. They get virtually all of the attention on the Internet, they’re allowed to lounge around convenience stores day and night like they own the place, drinking cat wine, and generally being doted on.
Finally, though, Japan’s obsession with cats and cat paraphernalia is making it possible for us to become the cat. Behold, the hooded cat blanket from online retailer Felissimo.
Cats have been working on us humans for years now, using the internet to their advantage and doing whatever it takes to look adorable. And now it seems they’ve taken a significant step towards their ultimate goal of world domination: a Japanese company has manufactured wine especially for felines.
Those of us with pets likely all have a story of finding our animals in all sorts of strange positions, hidden places and just plain odd situations. Twitter user jack4520 recently found their beloved pet in what looks like an incredibly uncomfortable place, although the smile on the animal’s face says otherwise. Click below to find out what animal found its way into this crowded bookshelf!
While Japan is certainly home to a wide variety of animals, from adorable Shiba Inu to emotive puppies, one creature you don’t see too often is the horse. Sure, they’re out in the countryside doing horse stuff–eating, pooping, and running like the wind–but it’s not like you see a horse just hanging out in front of convenience stores. I mean, seriously, this isn’t The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
Or is it??
Twitter exploded in a mess of coos and smiles last night when a single photo of a puppy whose markings look almost exactly like the classic Japanese “frowny face” emoticon (>_<) was shared by user panda_tamio. Puppies rarely have to try especially hard to be adorable, but this one may just be the cutest thing we’ve seen all week.
We’ve already elaborated on how much food-themed characters freak us out, but until now we thought we were pretty much fine with food based on characters. When we saw this photo of a Rilakkuma birthday cake being served at a Japanese restaurant, we found ourselves suddenly overwhelmed with melancholy, plus a touch of revulsion.




















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