Twenty-five cats trapped inside a shopping mall in Japan following a powerful earthquake and a subsequent explosion have been rescued safely, bringing relief to animal lovers across the world.
The cats were inside Cat Cafe MOFF, located on the ground floor of the Aeon Mall in Kashima, when a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck on Tuesday. The quake, which hit Japan's Kumamoto region, claimed at least 34 lives, according to authorities.
Following the earthquake, the shopping mall was evacuated, and Cat Cafe MOFF employees returned to rescue the animals. However, their efforts were interrupted when a massive explosion, believed to have been caused by a gas leak, ripped through the building.
The staff immediately evacuated the premises for their own safety, leaving the cats trapped inside the damaged mall.
On Wednesday, after obtaining permission from the fire department, police and the mall management, the cafe's manager entered the building and successfully rescued all 25 cats, including Momo, Kohaku, Tango and Shandy, a Norwegian Forest Cat.
The cats were found unharmed and were transported to another Cat Cafe MOFF outlet in Hiroshima, where they arrived safely at around 10 pm the same day.
The cafe said the cats were individually examined after the long journey from Kumamoto and received appropriate care.
"We were concerned about fatigue from the long journey from Kumamoto, but after arriving we provided individual care for each of them," the operator said.
According to the cafe, all the rescued cats are now "spending their time quietly and calmly".
The remarkable rescue quickly went viral after a report shared by Livedoor News on X received nearly 7.9 million views.
Many social media users expressed relief over the animals' survival.
"People say human lives come first, but human lives and cat lives are both equally precious. I'm glad everyone is safe," one Instagram user wrote.
The rescue also reignited debate over Japan's cat cafe industry. While many celebrated the animals' survival, some questioned whether the cats should return to a commercial cat cafe.
"If possible, I hope they won't be sent back to the cat cafe, but instead find adoptive homes where they can live safely and be surrounded by love," another Instagram user commented.
Others criticised the attention given to the rescued cats, noting that several people lost their lives in the disaster. Authorities confirmed that seven bodies were recovered from the shopping mall, prompting some social media users to argue that the human tragedy should not be overshadowed by the animal rescue story.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed)
