One of the fastest ways to make a lot of enemies is to mess with cats, and we can see that in how many people throughout the world are keen to rescue strays that happen to wander onto their doorsteps.
Some people have built little houses to make timid strays comfortable, others have secured medical care for cats in need, and some businesses have even turned strays into their official mascots .
And indeed, that’s how the story we’re about to go over today starts. But it’s since developed into something even more heartwarming as the rescued cats turned out to be just as big of a lifesaver for the man who helped them.
In 2018, a model train enthusiast named Naoki Teraoka opened a themed restaurant based around his passion in Osaka, Japan.
Unfortunately, he told Bored Panda that after the pandemic emerged, the Diorama Restaurant was in serious danger of failing due to the lack of customers.
And that only added to the stress and exhaustion that such a difficult time had already put his family through.
However, his luck would eventually change after this seriously ill kitten showed up at his business on June 10, 2020.
A day after Teraoka adopted this cat and named him Simba, he started noticing another cat peeking through the windows of his restaurant.
This would turn out to be Simba’s mother and since the business’ troubles left Teraoka with a surplus of food, he would start feeding her as well, which emboldened her to bring her other kittens inside.
RELATED STORIES
And after noticing how much these cats liked hanging around his trains and how funny they looked towering over the tiny railroads, he decided to take photos of them and post his new friends on Instagram.
In his words, “It was a financially difficult time for us, but we decided to help the cat family. Yes, we thought we were helping them, but they were the ones who helped us.”
Before long, enough people delighted at seeing the cats frolic among the trains that the Instagram page drew customers from all over Japan to the Diorama Restaurant.
There are now 14 cats staying there and all of them were rescued from the streets. They now come to customers when they order food and stay with them until they finish.
Since 2021, Teraoka also opened a cat shelter and cat-only hotel to the business’ second floor. Customers can visit this hotel for up to two hours and interact with the cats while drinking tea.
If a customer forms a close enough connection with a cat, there’s also a chance that they can adopt one.
Both through this policy and his own independent efforts, Teraoka has saved the lives of at least 100 cats.
He’s known to seek out areas where cats are at the most risk of being killed, which once led him on a journey 224 miles away from his restaurant so he could rescue two kittens.
As for adoptions, he’s already found new homes for over 60 cats.
The cats may not ever realize how much they’ve helped Teraoka, but it’s clear what kind of difference he’s made for them.
h/t: Bored Panda
