Injured kitty in Japan takes Web by storm

The Web loves a good cat picture. But when the photo showed a tiny rescued creature in a crocheted outfit, the Internet took a collective swoon.

The images of the teeny feline have been tweeted by the kitten’s owner, known by her Twitter handle, @jessiepon. The kitten, dubbed Wasabi-chan, was taken in after being badly injured by a bird.

“She was rescued after being attacked by a crow,” Reddit user DopeSk1llz posted. “Her top jaw was fractured, a hole in her throat, tongue was ripped, and part of gum was eaten.

The rescuer was feeding her with a tube which Wasabi-chan hates, thus this crochet straitjacket (Grandma's handmade) to hold her down while feeding.”

The cat was found back on June 2, and the Daily News reports that the rescuer brought the cat to the vet and was told the cat would need to be fed by a tube. When the kitty fought her feedings, the idea for the confining but cute outfits started. This one turns kitty into a mushroom.


Thanks to the clever idea to slip the cat into the cocoon-like sweaters – sort of warm and fuzzy body casts – Wasabi-chan has been feeding and recovering. The Daily Mail reports that Wasabi-chan is now off the feeding tube and eating on her own.

The kitty also appears to be getting along with other members of her adopted family – a bird and a dog. Altogether now: awww.

Wasabi-chan's stylish yet practical outfits inspired one fan to make a plush toy of the burrito-wrapped cat.

With over 50,000 followers on Twitter tracking the recovery of the cat, a story on Buzzfeed, and the photos being shared on Reddit and elsewhere on the Internet, this kitten has become a genuine – and genuinely adorable – Web star. Fans like this one have posted on Twitter:

@cateyan posted, “So cute and heartwarming.”