{"product_id":"the-blanket-cats-isbn-9780593852699","title":"The Blanket Cats","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Utterly charming . . . I would read a hundred of these stories.\" —Shelby Van Pelt, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eRemarkably Bright Creatures\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSeven struggling customers are given the unique opportunity to take home a \"blanket cat\" . . . but only for three days, the time it’ll take to change their lives.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA peculiar pet shop in Tokyo has been known to offer customers the unique opportunity to take home one of seven special cats, whose \"magic\" is never promised, but always received. But there are rules: these cats must be returned after three days. They must eat only the food supplied by the owner, and they must travel to their new homes with a distinctive blanket. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Blanket Cats\u003c\/i\u003e, we meet seven customers, each of whom is hoping a temporary feline companion will help them escape a certain reality, including a couple struggling with infertility, a middle-aged woman on the run from the police, and two families in very different circumstances simply seeking joy. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut like all their kind, the \"blanket cats\" are mysterious creatures with unknowable agendas, who delight in confounding expectations. And perhaps what their hosts are looking for isn't really what they need. \u003cb\u003eThree days may not be enough to change a life. But it might just change how you see it.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003eStorizen\u003c\/i\u003e's Must-Read Japanese Translations of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[A] slice-of-life masterpiece . . . Tinged with magical elements, the stories reveal truths about the human experience, from childhood to old age and every stage in between . . . Often sad, sometimes explosive, and always emotionally raw, these stories reflect the weight borne by many people every day.\" —\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Delightfully different.\"\u003cb\u003e —\u003ci\u003ePEOPLE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Amidst a markedly growing genre of cozy feline-themed fiction, Shigematsu’s tales [noticeably] diverge from tidy, feel-good endings. [It] is what unmistakably enhances the lingering poignancy of these resonating stories.\" —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Shigematsu adds depth and intrigue by avoiding sentimentality, so that when a story does contain a happy ending or a moment of comfort for the characters, it feels genuine. Fans of 'healing fiction'. . . will find much to enjoy.\" —\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Utterly charming. Like many animal-centered books, \u003ci\u003eThe Blanket Cats\u003c\/i\u003e is actually an exploration of messy humans, and Kiyoshi Shigematsu treats with care the uncomfortable truths that often surface when we dare to interrogate our issues. Seven Blanket Cat customers are not enough. I would read a hundred of these stories.\" —\u003cb\u003eShelby Van Pelt, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eRemarkably Bright Creatures\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What I found most striking about \u003ci\u003eThe Blanket Cats\u003c\/i\u003e is how Shigematsu masterfully contrasts the comforting imagery of cats nestled in blankets with the weight of real-life struggles. This is far from a simple feel-good story; its warmth feels earned, offering solace without slipping into sentimentality. In keeping with the current trend of \"healing fiction,\" Kirkwood's translation beautifully preserves the delicate balance between the book’s gentle charm and the real-world complexities it touches on.\" —\u003cb\u003eE. Madison Shimoda, translator of \u003ci\u003eWe'll Prescribe You a Cat\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A breath of fresh air in the genre of healing fiction. Boldly exploring the grey areas and struggles of life . . . it left me feeling hopeful that a small step in the right direction is what it takes to make things better.\" —\u003cb\u003eShanna Tan, translator of \u003ci\u003eWelcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Moving between tender sentimentality to deft, often cutting insightfulness through a series of artfully arranged vignettes, \u003ci\u003eThe Blanket Cats\u003c\/i\u003e is a triumph. Seven cats go home with seven new owners for a strict period of three days and two nights, upending seven lives rife with complexity and consequence. Resulting from these unexpected, often messy encounters is a profound image: a kind of knowledge about our human need to be needed that one can't fully understand without having owned a pet, whether for three days or for a lifetime.\" —\u003cb\u003eJinwoo Chong, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eFlux\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eI Leave It Up to You\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Sweet and tender and hopeful, \u003ci\u003eThe Blanket Cats r\u003c\/i\u003eeads like a Matt Haig novel for cat-lovers. I was completely and totally charmed by it.” —\u003cb\u003eAnnie Hartnett, author of \u003ci\u003eUnlikely Animals\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A cozy must-read for cat lovers, these seven stories by Kiyoshi Shigematsu have been rendered masterfully into English by translator Jesse Kirkwood, who brings each unique feline to life, quirks and all. \u003ci\u003eThe Blanket Cats\u003c\/i\u003e is an endearing book that meowed its way into my heart, curled up, and refused to leave. I am now eagerly hoping for more.\" —\u003cb\u003eSlin Jung, translator of \u003ci\u003eThe Rainfall Market\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"There’s more to the mysterious Blanket Cats than meets the eye. Shigematsu’s canny felines are adept at bringing clarity to their temporary owners and giving them a subtle nudge in another — often unexpected — direction.\" —\u003cb\u003eCat Anderson, translator of upcoming \u003ci\u003eThe Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The heartbreaking stories in \u003ci\u003eThe Blanket Cats\u003c\/i\u003e will touch you if you venture to try them.\" —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLesa's Book Critiques\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eKiyoshi Shigematsu \u003c\/b\u003ewas born in 1963 in Okayama Prefecture. After studying at Waseda University in Tokyo, he began a career as an editorial writer. His literary work has been honored with four major prizes, including the prestigious Naoki Prize in 2000. \u003ci\u003eThe Blanket Cats\u003c\/i\u003e was adapted for TV in 2017, and he contributed to the storyline of the \u003ci\u003eLost Odyssey\u003c\/i\u003e video game.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJesse Kirkwood\u003c\/b\u003e is a literary translator working from Japanese into English. The recipient of the 2020 Harvill Secker Young Translators’ Prize, his translations include \u003ci\u003eThe Blanket Cats\u003c\/i\u003e by Kiyoshi Shigematsu, \u003ci\u003eThe Kamogawa Food Detectives\u003c\/i\u003e by Hisashi Kashiwai, \u003ci\u003eTokyo Express\u003c\/i\u003e by Seicho Matsumoto, \u003ci\u003eThe Full Moon Coffee Shop\u003c\/i\u003e by Mai Mochizuki, and \u003ci\u003eA Perfect Day to Be Alone\u003c\/i\u003e by Nanae Aoyama.Chapter 1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Cat Who Sneezed\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwo nights, three days. That was how long you could keep them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You're probably thinking that isn't very long,\" the pet shop owner would say to his customers once they'd signed the contract. He would deliver these words in an identical tone, and with an identical expression, every single time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Any longer and you start to get attached. Meanwhile the cat starts worrying it might never be coming back here. Doesn't work out well for anyone, believe me.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBuying them wasn't an option. Nor, as a general rule, was hosting the same animal more than once in the span of a month.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Three days. That's it,\" the owner said, driving the point home in the same quiet but firm voice as always.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey didn't come cheap, either. For the same up-front cost-the fee plus a deposit several times that amount-you could easily buy one of the purebred kittens the owner sold through the more conventional \"pet shop\" side of his business.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd yet the customers kept coming. Each of the seven cats would return from its latest assignment and, after just a night or two at the shop, move on to another new home for the next three days.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey came with their own toilet, and you weren't allowed to feed them anything except the special cat food supplied by the owner. In particular, he insisted that, like any cat, they should never be fed onion, abalone, or chicken bones.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Onion is poison to a cat's bloodstream. It breaks down their red blood cells and turns them anemic. Abalone makes their ears swell up and turn bright red. In bad cases they develop dermatitis, and if you don't do anything about that, their ears fall right off. As for chicken bones, they splinter when a cat bites them. Don't want them piercing their throats or an organ, do we?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe customers would react to his warnings in all sorts of ways-some took notes, while others gasped in surprise; some simply nodded in silence, while others barely even listened because, in their opinion, they'd heard it all before. When it came to looking after cats, people's level of experience varied.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe owner welcomed customers who'd never had a cat before. But he was always sure to give them a particularly stern warning:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The cat sleeps on its own. When it's bedtime, you put it in this carrier, and you make sure the blanket is laid out just like it is now. And never ever wash the blanket-no matter how dirty you might think it is.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCats are not known to relish a change of environment. For any normal cat, this lifestyle would undoubtedly be stressful.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Which is why . . .\" said the owner, still using the same words as always, the same expression and tone of voice. It was quite possible that the precise duration of the explanation up to this point was identical every time, too. \"They have the blanket.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom an early age, each of the seven cats had always slept with their own rotating collection of blankets. As long as they were equipped with one of their familiar favorites, they could sleep soundly wherever they found themselves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It's like that scene you see in old manga. You know, the kid who leaves home and stuffs his pillow into his bag for comfort.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt this point, he liked to give a chuckle. The same chuckle every time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eToday, too, he chuckled right on cue.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Well, here you go. She's yours,\" he said, picking the carrier up from the counter and holding it toward the customer. \"Take good care of her, okay?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe customer-who, like the owner, looked around forty-clutched the carrier close to his chest, a nervous look on his face.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You don't have to hold it like that, you know.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Ah . . . sorry.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You don't have to apologize, either.\" For the first time, the owner offered what seemed to be an unscripted smile.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe customer smiled back awkwardly, then shifted the carrier to his side.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Sorry. It's just I've never had a cat before . . .\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Don't worry-she's well-behaved. Takes to people quickly. Go on, have a quick peek. She's a cute little thing. Big round eyes.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe customer did as the owner suggested. Still holding the carrier, he peered in through the small window in its side.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere she was, gazing right at him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe was curled up on a beige blanket. The owner hadn't lied: She had enormous, staring eyes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA calico, just as he'd requested.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"She's adorable.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Isn't she?\" the owner said with a satisfied nod. \"Still only a year old, so she has that kitteny look about her-but she's all grown up and well-behaved. A real charmer.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe customer nodded, then stole another glance inside the carrier. The cat was still looking at him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt mewed softly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Oh . . .\" The customer looked up. \"I forgot to ask her name.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe owner nodded, as if he'd seen the question coming. \"Well, what would you like to call her?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What? You mean I get to . . . ?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnother nod. \"You get to name her whatever you like. Call out to her a few times and you'll be surprised how quickly she picks it up.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Really?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yep. I told you, she's a clever one. And it makes sense for you to name her, don't you think? She is going to be your cat-even if it's just for three days.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe owner chuckled, then cast his eyes over the form his customer had filled out, which he was about to type into the computer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Mr. . . . Ishida, is it? Well, for the next three days, this cat is a member of the Ishida family. So make sure you give her a nice name, okay?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Um . . . what do you call her when she's here, at the shop?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Cali, as in 'calico.' Doesn't seem much point in us giving them fancy names, see . . . In any case, talk it over with your wife or kids, and find a name that feels right for your family, okay?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJust then the telephone rang. As the owner made to take the call, Norio Ishida bowed politely and left the shop.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn his way back to the parking lot, he turned around and took another look at the shop.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlongside the ordinary-looking sign for the pet shop was another that read blanket cats. Above the Japanese characters, the English words for the same thing had been squeezed in like an afterthought.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBlanket Cats. The phrase had meant nothing to him when he'd found the shop online, and still less when he'd walked in there. Now I get it, he thought. Cats that come with their own blanket. Blanket Cats.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe carrier felt surprisingly heavy in his hand. Doing his best to keep it steady, Norio made his way to his car.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe sky towered above him, expansive and blue. In the distance, the mountain ridges shaded off imperceptibly into the haze.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was spring. The day before, the clouds of fine yellow sand that often blew in from China at this time of year had, once again, made landfall in western Japan.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor now, though, Tokyo remained out of the sand's reach. Instead, the morning news had forecast high levels of cedar pollen in the city's air.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe forests that covered the mountains on the outskirts of Tokyo were almost all cultivated cedar plantations. Norio himself wasn't allergic to their pollen, but a colleague of his who had a surgical mask practically glued to his face at this time of year swore that sometimes he could actually see it swirling through the air.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Seriously,\" he had said, \"you know those old yokai manga, where the smoke spewed out by factories turns into a monster that chases after people? That's what it feels like.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNorio grinned to himself, imagining the face his colleague might pull if he brought him out here to the suburbs, where the pollen was particularly fierce.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJust then, a tiny sneeze came from inside the carrier.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHang on. Did cats really sneeze?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e. . . What if she had a pollen allergy?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSurely not, he thought as he opened the rear door of his car.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"We'll be there in a minute, okay?\" he said, setting the carrier down on the floor behind the front seat.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn response, the cat sneezed again. It wasn't as vocal as an achoo-more of a breathy shoo, like fabric rustling.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Don't tell me you actually have a pollen allergy,\" he said, astonished.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut the cat simply carried on sneezing. Shoo! Sha-shoo!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNorio took the expressway across central Tokyo back to the satellite town in Chiba where he lived. For early on a Saturday afternoon, the Metropolitan Expressway was surprisingly empty. On the way to the shop, the journey had taken him almost two hours due to a traffic accident. But now, even with a break along the way, it took him less than half that to get home.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen he was almost there, he pulled the car up outside the nearby train station and called Yukie on the phone. He'd expected his wife to still be home, but apparently that wasn't the case.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It's so nice outside, and I was bored, so I went for a little wander.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe added that she'd just walked into a café near the station, where she'd been planning to pass the time until he got back.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Right. I'll come to you, then.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What, and leave the cat in the car?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Of course not. I'll bring her with me.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Is that okay? Bringing a pet into a café, I mean.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Should be all right if she's still in the carrier, don't you think?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I don't know. Hang on, I'll ask one of the staff.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe phone switched to the hold melody. Norio leaned back in his seat and gave an exasperated sigh.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt would only be three days. But Norio had never had a cat before-or any pet, for that matter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJust as he was becoming convinced the café would be a no-go, the melody cut out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"They say it's fine as long as we don't let her out.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Right. I'll head over there now, then.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnce he'd hung up, he twisted around in his seat to look at the carrier. It was a pretty cramped little container, and yet the cat was just sitting inside it patiently. The sneezing that had continued for a while after they'd joined the expressway had stopped now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWas this stillness due to her training, or was it just her personality? Or was she asleep? Or . . . maybe . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFeeling a tremor of panic, he jumped out of the car, opened the rear door, and lifted the carrier up to look inside. He heard a vague snarl, presumably in protest at this rough treatment, and the container shook violently.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You're alive, then. All okay in there?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRelieved, he placed the carrier on the rear seat, then gave another sigh. Three days was starting to sound like quite a long time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Just hang on a bit longer, all right?\" he said, then opened up the hatch on the carrier. The least he could do was give her a bit of fresh air. You better not run off, he thought, preparing himself for the worst. But the cat remained curled up meekly on her blanket.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe remembered the pet shop owner's words: Only the top kittens get to be Blanket Cats.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNorio wasn't sure the cats themselves considered it much of an honor, but she did seem fairly well-behaved.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere was one other thing the owner had said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTalk it over with your wife or kids. The cat's name, that is.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe closed the hatch of the carrier.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Mommy's waiting,\" he said to the now-hidden cat. On second thought, maybe \"Mom\" was better for Yukie.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI'd prefer \"Dad\" to \"Daddy\" myself, he thought. Though it would be up to the kid to choose.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe cat sneezed again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShoo-shoo-shoo! Three in a row this time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You sure you don't have a pollen allergy?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShoo! Sha-shoo!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yeah, you definitely do.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShoo-shoo! Shoo!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Well, at least you're like Mom in one respect,\" he murmured before swallowing a sigh.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYukie was sitting by the window of the café. When she saw him approach, she removed her face mask and took a series of cautious breaths. After inhaling, exhaling, and twitching her nostrils for a few moments, she allowed her expression to finally relax into a smile.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"How are you doing?\" asked Norio, pulling out the chair opposite her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"My nose was ticklish earlier, but I think I'm all right for now.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Loads of pollen about today, apparently.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yeah, they said on TV. Glad I didn't go with you to pick her up.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNorio held the carrier out, and Yukie carefully took it in both hands, then placed it on the seat next to her. She gently stroked the hatch.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Hello,\" she said in a rounded, mellow voice. \"Nice to meet you.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt some point, the cat had stopped sneezing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I want to see her, but I feel, like, weirdly nervous . . .\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"She's a cute little thing.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A calico, right?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yeah. One year old.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"And she's a girl?\" she asked-before adding, almost apologetically: \"Didn't you want a boy?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I don't mind. Anyway, calicos are always female.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What? Really?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yeah. Apparently, with male chromosomes, it's impossible to have the genes for both ginger and black hair. Occasionally a male will be born through some kind of genetic abnormality, but the odds are like one in a thousand. And the ones that are born aren't exactly very . . . manly.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\". . . What do you mean?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"They're infertile.\" Norio glanced out of the window, where a mother and child happened to be passing. \"You know, like someone else in your life.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe'd meant it lightly, but he felt his voice tremble, and Yukie offered no reply.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e2\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe cat would sleep in the small Japanese-style room that adjoined the living room, they decided. It got plenty of sunlight, and the lack of furniture meant there was plenty of space. Even if the cat scratched the tatami mats, or the fusuma doors or the shoji panels-  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"We can deal with that, right?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yeah.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was settled. If anything, they were more worried about what the cat would make of the distinctive grassy smell of the tatami.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"If she doesn't like the tatami room, she can sleep in mine, right?\" Yukie had asked.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I'm sure she'd prefer mine,\" Norio replied. \"Yours stinks of hair products.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Well,\" Yukie pouted, \"while we're on the subject of smell, yours absolutely reeks of cigarettes.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yeah, but I bought one of those air freshener sprays.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"That's cheating! Well, we'll just have to spray my room, too.\"","brand":"G.P. Putnam's Sons","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302766006501,"sku":"NP9780593852699","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593852699.jpg?v=1767738413","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-blanket-cats-isbn-9780593852699","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}