October 2026: New Cat Friends Have Arrived

Tuxedo Cat is always the first to arrive at the village tea house. With black fur, a white bib, and what look like little white socks, it has earned the nickname "the Manager" from the regulars. The order for warming teacups, the names of today's reservations, the hour when sunlight reaches the window seat: everything is neatly filed away in its head.

One day, a guest rushed in, out of breath, with far too much to do and no idea where to start. Without a word, Tuxedo Cat set three teacups in a row. The first held what had to be done right now, the second what could wait until evening, and the third what could safely wait until tomorrow. With every cup the guest emptied, the day felt a little lighter.

Tuxedo Cat sorts out a tangled day step by step, the way you brew a good cup of tea.

Cow Cat knows the sunniest spot on the hillside farm. Its white fur has big black patches, so passersby sometimes wave at it, thinking it is a calf lying in the grass. Cow Cat answers only with a slow swish of its tail.

One afternoon, while the whole village was busy preparing for the festival, the mail carrier trudged up the hill with an armful of parcels. Cow Cat flopped down right in the middle of the path. With a sigh, the mail carrier sat down beside it, and the cat rolled over and yawned. The wind brushed the grass and the clouds drifted by. When the mail carrier finally stood up again, their steps felt strangely light.

Cow Cat is the most reliable friend for saying, "It's okay to rest for a bit."

Siamese Cat lives by the well, where village news always gathers first. It has cream fur, brown ears and tail, and clear blue eyes. Who brought home a new flowerpot, what sold out first at the bakery today: there is hardly any news this cat does not know. Secrets, however, it always keeps.

What Siamese Cat loves most is not spreading news but listening. Every evening it sits by the well and asks whoever passes by, "How was today? And then? What happened next?" Even people who answer "nothing much" end up finding a small joy they had not noticed, just by following its questions.

With Siamese Cat around, even an ordinary day turns out to be full of stories.

Mint Choco Cat is an apprentice at the village ice cream shop. Its mint fur is dotted with chocolate-chip spots, and its ears and paws look as if they were dipped lightly in chocolate. Its favorite pastime is dreaming up flavor combinations nobody has ever tried.

Pumpkin cinnamon, roasted sweet potato vanilla, even salted butter roll. The shop owner shakes their head every time, but always ends up tasting a spoonful. Most of them failed, yet one became the signature flavor of this year's festival. Mint Choco Cat gives even the failed flavors a name: "the one that will taste better next time."

Mint Choco Cat turns every first attempt into a fun experiment.

Cotton Candy Cat stays by the cotton candy cart at every festival. Its fur fades from pink to sky blue, so at sunset it is almost impossible to tell apart from the sky.

When it finds a child crying alone among the festival lights, Cotton Candy Cat tears off a piece of cotton candy and offers it. Then it simply sits beside them without asking anything. As the sugar melts away, the crying slowly fades too. Cotton Candy Cat knows that melting a heavy heart rarely takes big words.

Cotton Candy Cat comforts with one sweet word and a heart that stays by your side.

Starlight Cat collects stars every night at the little broadcasting station on the hill. Golden stardust sparkles in its night-sky fur, and a tiny star always follows above its head. Yes, the paw prints with sparkling dust belonged to this cat.

Starlight Cat has a rather special job. Whenever it spots someone starting a drawing, humming a new tune, or writing a first sentence, it floats a star above that person's head. It is a sign that even the smallest beginning, the kind nobody seems to notice, has someone cheering for it.

Starlight Cat cheers louder than anyone for a creator's very first step.