TOKYO JOURNAL Pet Menagerie

Neko Ningyo	Doggy Breath	Watch The Birdie	Cat Bunkbed
While Tokyoites buy their grand-daughters hina-ningyo for Doll's Day, cat lovers spoil their pets with a feline version (Ningyo no Mura, 3863-4711).	Oui Monsieur is a nutritious eight-vegetable doggy drink which claims to eliminate bad breath and body odor (Shizen Yakugaku Kenkyujo, 5389-6227).	A treat for cats -- 25 minutes of color, stereo footage of little birds and mice (Pet Heart Station, 0120-125-372).	For cats who like lounging within spitting distance of each other (Pet Heart Station).

Pet Health

dial-a-vet

There are several pet hotlines in Tokyo offering medical and psychiatric advice in Japanese, such as the delightfully named Hello, Wan-Nyan Call (3423-0011). Another service, Nihon Animal Lover's Association (3409-1821), says the most frequently heard comments include: "I just bought my pet and it already died," and "My animal doesn't like the rest of my family."

nature calls

Each year Ueno Zoo (3828-5171) receives approximately 3,500 cards, letters and phone calls from the public, ranging from absurd queries ("I took a picture of an interesting piece of excrement in the park - what is it?") to simple health-related questions from pet owners. "We aren't unhappy to get these calls," says zoo spokesman Osamu Ishida, "but we wish people would just take their animals to a vet."

the termineuter

When Renate Herold came here to do graduate work in sociology at Tokyo University, she discovered a more pressing social ill: the proliferation of strays. "Most people could spend plenty to feed an animal, but they couldn't seem to find the time or money to neuter one," she says. So in 1984, Herold got some vets together and bought a cab, Now you can just give Herold's organization a call (0427-71-2463), have ¥5000 ready for a male dog or cat (females cost ¥10,000), and they'll schedule an appointment for a one-day pick up and desexing. In by 10, out by five...almost.

Pet Trivia

Pet Peeves
"When a cat bites you a lot or urinates all over the place," cautions a Tokyo pet advisory service, "you can safely assume it is suffering stress." Cats are not the only pets with fragile nerves. The Animal Medical Center in Kawasaki estimates that 10 percent of the animals it treats suffer psychological problems, while the Society for Study of Human-Animal Relations met last year to discuss dogs who dominate their owners - by such means as walking in front of them or urinating on their legs.
"One problem is the overindulgent lifestlye thrust on many animals," says Dr. Abe of the Abe Animal Hospital. "Dogs and cats are fed soft gourmet foods wich they don't need to chew, so their teeth go bad, and they're driven around everywhere." The solution, then, more exercise and wholesome food. If that doesn't work, owners can try a CD called Stress Reduction Music for Dogs and Cats (Nippon Crown, ¥2200).

Faster Pussycat, Run, Run, Run!
The purchasing power of the yen may soon be boosting feline longevity. Shamisen dealers no longer seem interested in buying cat skins necessary to produce "just the right twang" from Tokyo pet hunters. Pelts can now be imported from Korea, Malaysia or Thailand for just ¥1500 each.

Pet Peeves
"When a cat bites you a lot or urinates all over the place," cautions a Tokyo pet advisory service, "you can safely assume it is suffering stress." Cats are not the only pets with fragile nerves. The Animal Medical Center in Kawasaki estimates that 10 percent of the animals it treats suffer psychological problems, while the Society for Study of Human-Animal Relations met last year to discuss dogs who dominate their owners - by such means as walking in front of them or urinating on their legs. "One problem is the overindulgent lifestlye thrust on many animals," says Dr. Abe of the Abe Animal Hospital. "Dogs and cats are fed soft gourmet foods wich they don't need to chew, so their teeth go bad, and they're driven around everywhere." The solution, then, more exercise and wholesome food. If that doesn't work, owners can try a CD called Stress Reduction Music for Dogs and Cats (Nippon Crown, ¥2200).
Faster Pussycat, Run, Run, Run!
The purchasing power of the yen may soon be boosting feline longevity. Shamisen dealers no longer seem interested in buying cat skins necessary to produce "just the right twang" from Tokyo pet hunters. Pelts can now be imported from Korea, Malaysia or Thailand for just ¥1500 each.

QUARANTINE

Pets make up only a small percentage of the 10,000 animals that come through Narita's quarantine every year; about 70 percent are for lab experiments. Japan's quarantine procedures are surprisingly liberal. These are some of the animals and animal products thaat must pas through quarantine: dogs, even-toed ungulates (cows and pigs to the rest of us), horses, birds and their eggs, rabbits, bees, animal dung and animal corpses. Cats are exempt.
All dogs entering Japan require proof that your dog does not have rabies, along with proof and date of rabies inoculation. Without these papers, dogs can spend up to six months in quarantine. Even with them, however, the length of quarantine still depends on your dog's country of origin. Lucky pooches from 11 countries which report no rabies cases in recent history (including the U.K. and Australia, but not the U.S.) are usually checked and released within 12 hours. The rest undergo a 14-day quarantine. During that time, the animal quarantine services will provide the checkup and free housing. The owner must deal with feeding, walking and cleaning up the pet's space - or pay a local care service like Kitamura Kaisoten (0476-32-6650) to do it. You can call Narita's Animal Quarantine Services at (0476-34-2342). Incidentally, Mitsuo Fukazawa, Veterinary Officer of the Animal Quarantine Service, has noted something of a "rabbit boom" in recent years.

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