The “before and after” story of a shelter cat and its owner, told in two photos.

Cats that at first glance appear to be living freely and carefree outside are actually living in a very harsh environment. In fact, some of the newly-protected cats actually have very stern and severe expressions on their faces. But once they spend time in a home and receive lots of love from their families, their faces change to a very gentle expression within a year or two.

says Ms. Mayuko Miyahara, editor of the cat magazine “Neko Biyori.

How did these shelter cats change after meeting their current owners? The 48 “before and afters” of these cats are included in the book “Minna Happiness! Protection Cats Before and After” (edited by the Neko Biyori editorial department, Tatsumi Shuppan), which contains 48 such “before and after” stories, has been published.

The book is a collection of cats interviewed in the quarterly magazine “Neko Biyori” and the mook book “Nekomaru,” as well as submissions from their owners solicited via SNS. Some of the cats were given to us by shelters, others were picked up by dogs after they were found mewling in the grass, others were rescued from drowning in heavy rain, and so on, all with various dramas before meeting their owners. The transformation of these cats from the “before” to the “after” after spending months with their owners is astonishing.

In recent years, the term “shelter cats” has become quite common, but what kind of cats are “sheltered” and why should they be “protected”? We asked Mr. Miyahara about the basics of “protecting” cats.

Generally speaking, a protected cat is a cat that has been taken care of by a public health center, volunteer workers, or an NPO.

In many cases, stray cats that have not been spayed or neutered, or kittens that have been separated from their mothers shortly after birth, are taken in. There are also cases of cats being taken in by public health centers or other organizations after a cat has been adopted by a group of cats that have been separated from their mothers. It is difficult to define what kind of cat a shelter cat is, but I think the closest we can come is to say that it is not a domesticated cat, but a cat that has been taken in for some reason or another.