Is there any other kind? It’s so convenient to read about cute kitties in manga… no need to clean up after the cats, and they’re adorable without causing allergic reactions.
Here I’m talking about My Kitten Is a Picky Eater, Fairy Cat, and the latest volume of Cat + Gamer.
Fairy Cat
Fairy Cat by Hisa Takano has perhaps the cutest cat here — as the fairy cat is a tiny ball of fur, small enough to fit in the palm of someone’s hand.
It’s also magical, able to vanish. This first volume of the series features a young man discovering a fairy cat has come into his apartment during a rainstorm. The short chapters show him and the fairy getting used to each other, with the cat gaining a name and a snack and sneaking off to school with him when it’s not napping. It’s very relaxing.
My Kitten Is a Picky Eater
My Kitten Is a Picky Eater by Migiri Miki shows a new pet parent learning to safely raise a kitten. The cat is rescued from near-death in the snow by someone who never thought about having a pet.
Yuki (which means snow) ate some poisoned food, which has caused him to associate most cat food with pain. His new owner starts cooking for him and feels relief when the cat starts recovering.
I enjoy seeing that joy, even after the smallest accomplishment — every little bit helps keep the kitten improving. And the simple design of the little black cat shows his concern and curiosity well. The new owner also visits a cat cafe to find out more about how they act and learns how to give the kitty a bath.
I found it charming that taking care of the cat helps the owner learn to take better care of himself as well. In a way, this is also a food manga, as the cat is cooked for.
Cat + Gamer
I had worried that by Cat + Gamer volume 7, author Wataru Nadatani might have run out of ways to keep the cat activities in the series interesting. Then came a chapter designed specifically for me.
Riko has been playing a detective game when she’s interrupted by noise from the kitchen. Her cats have made a mess, and she wants to figure out which one is responsible. The result is chapter art of the two kitties as Holmes and Watson — super-cute!
Another chapter has Riko breaking her addiction to a puzzle game by snuggling the cats instead. It’s a neat idea, but the images of her sticking her face into the feline fur made my eyes itch by association.
A large section of the book, which originally came out in 2019, is about Riko starting to work from home. She loves it, but she has to fight the many temptations and distractions, something that’s very relatable. As is her redesigning her workspace and seeing the cats interrupt a virtual meeting.
I think this is my favorite cat manga because it’s most like what I think life with pets would really be like.
English (US) · 