Finally, I’m back to reading J-lit in the healing fiction genre—though I’m not sure if that’s the right term. When I first picked up this book, I immediately noticed that it had a similar premise to We’ll Prescribe You a Cat. The difference is that The Blanket Cats refers to something like a cat rental shop, while We’ll Prescribe You a Cat is literally about a place where a doctor prescribes you a cat after examining you.
In short, this book contains seven short stories, each featuring a different cat rented out from The Blanket Cats. Throughout the stories, you’ll meet a calico, a Maine Coon, a Manx, an American Shorthair, a Mongrel, and even a Russian Blue. I was honestly delighted to learn new things while reading—like the fact that most calicos are female, and male calicos are extremely rare due to genetics. That little detail made me appreciate the uniqueness of calico cats even more.
The rules for renting a cat from The Blanket Cats are actually quite simple. Customers can only keep the cat for three days, and they’re only allowed to feed it food bought from the store. The blanket is also very important—if it gets lost, the cat might throw a tantrum and won’t be as friendly toward the customer. Most of the cats at The Blanket Cats are very clever and manage to meet the expectations of those who rent them. That’s really the charm of each cat in this collection
In my opinion, the cats in this book aren’t the typical magical creatures that suddenly bring miracles. Maybe only the Maine Coon has a hint of magical ability—though I started to doubt that, since the character could simply have been hallucinating. Who knows? As for the other cats, they don’t play that kind of role. In fact, some of them felt like they were just present without having a very significant impact on the story. That said, each customer still has a strong and unique reason for renting a cat, which makes their stories engaging in their own way.
Out of all the stories, there are two that felt quite twisted to me: The Cat with No Tail and The Cat No One Liked. I really couldn’t guess the truth behind the characters in these ones. For The Cat with No Tail, the story is told from the perspective of what feels like an anti-hero, so my first impression of the plot completely collapsed once the truth was revealed. Meanwhile, The Cat No One Liked had a similar kind of twist, and in fact, I think it was the most surprising story for me. Sometimes people develop certain attitudes because of traumatic experiences in their past—just like the landlord and the mongrel cat he kept renting.
Another memorable story was The Cat Who Went on a Journey. In this book, the author plays with different points of view—sometimes first person, sometimes third person. The most interesting part of this chapter, though, is that it’s told from the cat’s perspective. Even though the storyline is a bit cliché, I actually think this one could be expanded further. If there were ever a continuation or spin-off in the future, I definitely wouldn’t complain—I’d happily read it.
Also, one of the reasons I picked up this book in the first place is because it’s translated by Jesse Kirkwood—one of my favorite J-lit translators. Whenever I read her translations, I feel an instant click and almost always enjoy the experience.
Overall, this book is your typical healing fiction. So yes, it might follow a formula similar to other books in the genre. But since this one revolves around cats, I completely loved it and enjoyed reading every page. I’m even starting to suspect that in Japan, many families really do keep cats—because books about them seem to be everywhere!
