The days of being a cat in Japan

When Jiantai entered the pet hospital of Fujimoto's family with the old cat in her arms, it was the time when the hospital had the most people and the busiest business.

Miss Hui Mei, who had already been notified in advance, heard the bell, glanced up towards the gate, and found that he was the one who came in, and immediately said: "Did Mrs. Jian come to get insect repellent for the Great Sage and the others? Ignore the madam's It’s ready for you, just come and get it from me.”

Mrs. Jian, who was holding the cat, stopped when she heard the words and replied, "Thank you very much, Sister Huimei, but I have something to ask my father now. I don't know if he has time now."

Ms. Huimei, who happened to be sorting out the registration book, immediately flipped through it when she heard this, and said while flipping through her: "The last guest just left, and I remember that the next person's appointment time is still ten minutes away. During this time, Mr. Fujimoto should It's free, but what do you want him for?"

Speaking of this, the nurse, who has been busy with work, had time to look up again, and then she found the old cat in Mrs. Jian's arms.

"Hey, Jiantai, did you pick up another cat?" the curious nurse asked.

"No, I just saw the cat injured on the side of the road and brought it here for treatment. The old cat had a cat tag on its collar, and I saw its owner's name and contact information on the back."

This kind of situation is very common in the Fujimoto Pet Hospital. No matter which one of the Fujimoto family encounters injured animals outside, they will bring them back for treatment.

If there is an owner, they will find the owner according to the contact information. If there is no owner, they will be sent to a small animal protection center with better conditions after treatment.

Although their family has to pay a lot of extra expenses every year for this, no one has ever complained about it.

Seeing Mrs. Jian holding the injured cat and quickly going up to the second floor, Miss Hui Mei, who was sitting at the front desk downstairs, held a pen and said to herself in doubt: "Why do I always feel that the old cat in Mrs. Jian's arms The cat looks familiar? Why can’t I remember where I’ve seen it? Oh, am I getting old, why am I always forgetting things recently?”

Mr. Fujimoto, who just saw off a guest upstairs, was about to make a cup of tea for himself, but the tea bag had just been put in the standing equipment, and before the boiled water could be poured in, his youngest son rushed in.

Seeing the cat in his son's arms, Mr. Fujimoto knew what his son was here for without asking.

So he put down the empty teacup in his hand, took out his gloves and said while wearing them: "Put Mrs. Tai on the examination table."

The little fat man holding the old cat was surprised and said, "Dad, do you know this cat?"

Mr. Fujimoto, who was wearing a mask, smiled and said: "I know you, this cat named Atai is the first customer to come to see a doctor after your father and I run the pet hospital alone. Even its owner, I It's also very familiar."

"Hey, then why haven't I seen them in our hospital?" Asked Mrs. Jian, who came to the hospital two or three times a week.

"Because tai and its owner are getting old in recent years, our hospital provides them with door-to-door treatment. The home of tai and his owner is in the back street, not far at all. If they need it, dad will Going over to see them with a medical kit instead of them coming in to see a doctor."

Mr. Fujimoto explained this to his young son while carefully examining the old cat Atai.

After a detailed consultation, Dr. Fujimoto took off his mask and gloves and said to his youngest son who was waiting for the news, "Don't worry, it's just a simple muscle tension and no bone damage. It's a blessing, you know Mrs. An old cat of this age, if it hurts its bones, it will be troublesome, and it is not easy to raise it."

The little fat man who was waiting at the side also breathed a sigh of relief, and then saw his father take out the mobile phone from his pocket.

Looking through the contacts on the phone, Dr. Fujimoto said to his youngest son: "I still have patients in a while, so please take care of Mrs. Tai. I will call Mrs. Tai's owner right away. I don't think it will take long for him." will come over.”

Jian Tai nodded and agreed, but when it wanted to reach out to hug the old cat, an accident happened.

The old cat that had sniffed Jiantai's smell and let him hug it all the way was very obedient, when it faced Jiantai and hugged it again, it turned its ears back and hid back, looking at him full of vigilance and unfamiliar.

"Hey, what's the matter with you? Didn't we get along very well just now?" The little fat man who was left out asked very puzzled.

Mr. Fujimoto, who had just put down his mobile phone, immediately explained after seeing this scene: "It doesn't matter about you, it's because Atai is getting old, not only has hearing loss, but also suffers from Alzheimer's. Mr. It often forgets the past, I think this A loss and injury should also be related to illness."

Cats and dogs can also suffer from Alzheimer's, and the chance is not small. Most of the manifestations are slow response and memory loss, but it should be more serious from Ah Tai's appearance.

"It turned out to be like this. No wonder I always feel that its response is very slow. I thought it was a natural reaction of an old cat."

While they were talking, the owner of Ah Tai, who lived very close, hurried over.

The appearance of the old gentleman named Taro was a bit beyond Jiantai's expectations, because his father had said before that Atai and its owner were both old, and they only provided door-to-door service for their convenience.

When you only listen to this sentence, the owner of Jiantai and Atai will be an old gentleman with gray hair and hobbled feet.

However, after the meeting, Mrs. Jian discovered that the old gentleman was an old gentleman, but he did not have gray hair. On the contrary, he had short black hair and looked really young and energetic.

The old Mr. Taro who came to pick up the cat first paid for Mrs. Tai's examination fee, and then thanked Mrs. Kenta who helped his cat. Facing Mr. Taro like this, Dr. Fujimoto was obviously more surprised than his own son.

"Mr. Taro, you... your hair...?" Probably because he raised his question a bit impolitely, so Mr. Fujimoto didn't continue to ask.

Mr. Taro, who was questioned by him, smiled very calmly and said: "Well, I dyed my hair. You said that Alzheimer's disease is very strange. Patients may not be able to remember what happened just now. I will still remember some scenes and characters in the past. These days, Ah Tai’s illness has become more and more serious. Not only will she often get lost at home, but sometimes even I will forget it. Won't it be very similar to when I was young? Then Atai won't forget me so easily, it remembers how I was more than ten years ago, I know it."

Dr. Fujimoto was speechless for a long time, because he really didn't know what he should say.

However, at this time, Mr. Taro had already gone to call his cat, and the sick old cat was looking at his owner who had been with him for nearly 20 years with a puzzled look.

Mr. Taro bent down and stretched out his hand to the old cat, and said to it with a gentle smile, "Let's go, old man, let's go home."

The old cat, who can no longer remember the owner's current appearance, still has the deepest memory in his mind.

More than ten years ago, there was also a person with the same voice and smell, who stretched out his hand to his young self and said, "Little cat, would you like to go home with me?"

During the overlapping of memories, Ah Tai stretched out her paws to that person just like back then, and then it had a warm home.

Looking at the owner and pet who were both old but clinging to each other and walking down the stairs, the little fat man felt something suddenly took root in his heart.

Raising a pet requires a lot of effort, because those lives are not only clever and cute, but also stupid, sick and troublesome.

His father had told him these things since he started raising Dasheng, and he accepted him to enjoy, but now he wants to do more.

"Dad, I want to be a good veterinarian when I grow up."

Dr. Fujimoto, who was looking down at the document, suddenly heard his youngest son say this to him.

Surprised, he raised his head, but saw a kind of steadfast light in his ten-year-old son, just like himself back then.

Putting down the pen in his hand, Mr. Fujimoto walked over and said to his child in a very serious tone: "Jianta, you have to think clearly, a veterinarian has undertaken too much. What you get is not only happiness and a sense of accomplishment, but also a sense of achievement." There will be that kind of helpless loss and frustration. There will be praise and blame, and even misunderstanding and hurt, can you bear it?"

Facing his father's question, the little fat man replied with certainty: "Yes father, no matter how much I face, I still want to be a veterinarian. It's not for happiness and achievement, I just want to do more for them , even if only a little bit."

Doctor Fujimoto looked at his son for a long time after hearing the words, and after confirming that he was serious and not just a whim, he nodded and replied: "Well, in this case, you can come here to practice after school and participate in some diagnosis and treatment activities in the hospital as an assistant. If Your idea has not changed before you went to college, so I will not block what you want to do, and we will support your chosen major and future life direction."

The little fat man said with a bright smile, "Yes, I will work hard."