By TARO SATO/ Staff Writer
November 14, 2020 at 07:00 JST
Hatsuko Yamashita, left, and her younger sister, Nobuko Motoyama, introduce the “Isshoni!! Hinyan” evacuation cage for cats in the Shinzencho district of Soka, Saitama Prefecture. (Taro Sato)
SOKA, Saitama Prefecture--Two sisters have developed a cat evacuation cage designed to ensure that pets and their owners are not left behind during natural disasters.
The cage, called “Isshoni!! Hinyan,” is offered by Neko no Tobira (Cat’s door), a company founded in March 2019 by the sisters, Hatsuko Yamashita, 59, and Nobuko Motoyama, 54.
“Many pet owners have gone to evacuation centers without giving it much thought and found themselves at a loss when they were rejected (because of the pets),” Motoyama said.
The sisters have been helping to take care of abandoned cats on a volunteer basis. They decided to create the evacuation cage after seeing pet dogs and cats being left in their homes during disasters.
After two years of trial and error, they used corrugated plastic for the cage. The finished product is foldable and fairly light.
The cage is equipped with various features to reduce stress, including concealing the cat from outside eyes and letting in light from windows.
“Cats might (panic) and escape from their cages when they are placed in an unfamiliar environment,” Yamashita said.
Yamashita encourages cat owners to let their pets get used to their cages in normal times, and to check if evacuation centers in their areas allow pets.
“Some pet owners choose not to evacuate and decide to stay in their homes with their pets, possibly because they are afraid of interacting with other people,” she said. “Saving pets can save people.”
Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, the Environment Ministry compiled guidelines in 2013 for pet care during disasters. The guidelines encourage owners to evacuate with their pets, keep the animals in cages and take other necessary measures.
The evacuation cage was released in December for 19,800 yen ($189).
For more information, visit Neko no Tobira’s website at (https://nekotobi.com/).
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