Owners Searching for Missing Cats after Hokkaido Quake

September 20, 2018

Sapporo- Many cat owners are desperately seeking missing pets after a massive earthquake shook the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido on Sept. 6.

People familiar with the matter said that some cats appear to have become lost after leaving their homes in the turmoil.

The Sapporo animal management center in the city of Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, has been contacted over 15 cases, more than usual, in which concerned owners were searching for their missing cats after the earthquake.

Animal welfare organizations are also reaching out to help those frantically looking for their furry companions.

A 26-year-old woman in the city of Kushiro, also in Hokkaido, could not find her nine-year-old cat, Elizabeth, anywhere after she briefly stepped out of her apartment on Sept. 6 when the quake cut off her electricity.

The woman said that she was "flustered" at that time and did not notice that her female cat was missing.

"She may have sensed the tense atmosphere," the woman added, with a worn-out look on her face.

After putting up posters about her missing feline around her neighborhood and posting on social media, the woman received over 10 possible sightings. None of the cats that were spotted, however, proved to be her beloved pet.

"Words of encouragement and information have become my moral support," she said, still hoping for the return of Elizabeth.

In many cases, cats escape if the owners leave their homes without taking necessary precautions, such as locking doors, according to sources including those at the Hokkaido Veterinary Medical Association.

Since cats have a habit of bolting out of a building when they are alarmed, many municipalities have to deal with increases in stray cats following an earthquake, the sources said.

Some owners did not take their cats with them to evacuation shelters as their pets might be a nuisance to other people affected by the quake.

After a series of massive quakes struck the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto in 2016, the Kumamoto animal welfare center was contacted by owners over 424 cases of missing cats, some 10 times the usual level.

An official at the animal center said that some cats were unable to find their way home or hiding in fear of aftershocks. In some cases, the cats were found six months later.

The official said that it is important for owners to put a pet tag on their felines.

Sapporo-based Nyantomo Network Hokkaido, a nonprofit organization that rescues stray cats and finds them new homes, has stuck up posters offering to find people's missing cats, at evacuation shelters in the town of Atsuma and other municipalities in Hokkaido.

The group has rescued a total of six cats after requests by disaster-affected people.

Tamami Katsuta, 52, who heads the group, said that owners are leading tough daily lives.

"We'd like to tackle (the situation) swiftly as the lives of beloved family members are on the line," she added.

"Although cats enter a state of panic during an earthquake as they are skittish, they will not go far away," said Yukiko Uesugi, who heads Hokkaido Shippo No Kai, an NPO based in the Hokkaido town of Naganuma.

She called for people who need help to contact the organization. Jiji Press