The Latest Twitter-Famous Kitten From Japan

Wasabi-chan is the latest "famous internet cat" from Japan who's known for her adorable but rather uncomfortable-looking outfits. You say it's animal abuse? No, there's a very legitimate reason behind the costumes. Discover a touching story between Wasabi-chan and her foster parent, @jessiepon!

Introducing Wasabi-chan.

Via blog.rinkya.com

This is Wasabi-chan in a tarako (salted cod roe) outfit. The costume was made specifically to restrain the movement of the kitten. Read on to find out why! The following tweets are all translated by Rinkya in English from originally Japanese posts by @jessiepon.

This is where it all started.

Via blog.rinkya.com

June 2nd, 2013

@jessiepon: ”I heard a horrible cry of a kitten, getting attacked by crows in front of my house. I immediately rescued her and brought her to the vet. Crows have eaten inside of the kitten’s mouth, to the point she can’t drink milk on her own. The vet had to insert a catheter directly into her stomach to feed the kitten. Her initial body weight: 210g.”

Via blog.rinkya.com

June 8th, 2013

@jessiepon: ”We’ve been feeding her milk in every 4 hours. Her body weight is now 274g!“

Via blog.rinkya.com

June 8th, 2013

@jessiepon: “Our kitten does not poop everyday. The vet said I don’t have to be worried about it, but still!”

Via blog.rinkya.com

June 9th, 2013

@jessiepon “Good morning! Today’s photo of the kitten <3 After the catheter feeding this morning, I wiped her face, and the scabs fell off. She looks beautiful! She couldn’t even open her left eye when I first found her, but now she can raise her eyelid gradually. Her tongue is torn up in half, so sometimes it hangs out of her mouth like this… ^^;”

The first time the kitten appeared in a baby covering.

Via blog.rinkya.com

June 11th, 2013

@jessiepon: “Today’s photo! When I was taking lice out around her eyes, I heard her purr for the first time! Her upper jaw is fractured, so it’s still bleeding a little. She is taking antibiotics, anti-inflammatory analgesic, and intestinal medication now.

“Also, we finally named her. Her name is ‘Wasabi-chan’ and she’s a girl. (*´艸`*)”

Via blog.rinkya.com

June 12th, 2013

@jessiepon: “Thank you for all the support and kind messages! Wasabi-chan is improving a lot, she started nibbling her front paws today.”
“Her body weight is now 300g!”

Then, this photo was uploaded, making Wasabi-chan an instant superstar on Japanese Twitter.

Via blog.rinkya.com

June 15th, 2013

@jessiepon: “She tries to fight back whenever we feed her with the catheter, so Granny made her this outfit to make sure she eats. A “tarako” Wasabi. Tomorrow we’ll go to the clinic again!”

This particular photo of Tarako Wasabi-chan got more than 20,000 retweets, to @jessiepon's surprise!

For people who are not familiar with tarako...

Via e-hkiosk.jp

*Tarako is a salted cod roe, it's a Japanese delicacy.

She became extremely popular...

Via blog.rinkya.com

…to the point that several Wasabi-chan “fans” made a Wasabi-chan stamp, Wasabi-chan felt plush toy, and more to show their support for the kitten.

Day by day, Wasabi-chan shows improvement in her health.

Via blog.rinkya.com

June 17th, 2013

@jessiepon: “Wasabi-chan is very fortunate to have such warm responses from everyone! Today, we started her litter training, but as you can see, Wasabi-chan is not so interested in it… ʅ(‾◡◝ ა)ʃ”

Via blog.rinkya.com

June 19th, 2013

@jessiepon: “Toay’s Wasabi-chan! After the catheter-feeding at 4AM, she threw up her food. It’s because we increased the amount of milk today. Now she is fine, plays well and sleeps well.”

She got a new outfit — shimeji mushroom!

Via blog.rinkya.com

June 20th, 2013

@jessiepon: “Granny’s new hand-made piece! This is Wasabi-chan in a shimeji mushroom cover. We’ll start the catheter-feeding with this new outfit today!”

“Also, here is Wasabi’s profile: Used to be a stray cat / possibly quintuplets / female / initial weight: 210g (minus weight of lice) / favorite thing: Granny / hates: catheter-feeding and mouth checkup / friend: stuffed mouse.”

Around this time...

Some people complained that putting a kitten in an outfit like this is an animal abuse, which drove @jessiepon into locking her Twitter account as private. Clearly, these people have no context to why the owner makes Wasabi-chan wear it. It's not for fun, but for feeding the kitten without her trying to fight back. Sudden movements can end up suffocating the kitten or hurting her throat/stomach! Luckily,@jessiepon opened up the account to public again.

Via blog.rinkya.com

June 30th, 2013

@jessiepon: ”It’s the first time Wasabi was able to poop by herself! Coincidentally, we have to bring a stool sample to the clinic today. Thank you for your help, Wasabi!”

Wasabi-chan sends a message to the world with her wasabi plant outfit.

Via blog.rinkya.com

July 1st, 2013

@jessiepon: “It’s been a month since I met Wasabi-chan! Thank you for everyone’s support. I made this photo to pray for the wellness and happiness of all pets in the world.”

She gets along with other members of the family too!

Via blog.rinkya.com

(@jessiepon also has a dog and a parakeet, and they are friends! How cute!)

Via matome.naver.jp

You can check the rest of the photos and daily updates of Wasabi-chan from @jessiepon's Twitter account or her Instagram!

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