On a calm afternoon, Yuki, a female Siberian husky, is lying down and dozing off. Two male cats, a brown tabby named Ren and a brown tabby named San, are nestled next to her, licking Yuki's ears and playing with each other. It's a truly peaceful scene that unfolds every day at Kamoshika's home.
"Ren and San have lived with Yuki since they were born. I don't think they ever dreamed that they were of different species (laughs)."
The first dog Kamoshika welcomed into her home was Yuki. Living with a husky had been a long-cherished dream of hers.
"I've always loved and admired huskies, which have a sharp, wolf-like face but are also friendly. In 2017, I happened to visit a pet shop and saw a sign advertising a husky puppy about four months old looking for a foster home. I decided it was fate and decided to adopt one."
Yuki has always been a cheerful and tomboyish girl. When we first adopted her, she was in her mischievous prime, teasing us with gentle bites, playing pranks, and escaping. However, even as a puppy, she is a large dog with a hunting instinct. Even at the time, she weighed around 7kg, and it was quite a struggle to calm her down with her overwhelming energy.
"He would often get cuts on his hands while playing (laughs)," she says, but before long, Yuki became like a partner to Kamoshika.
"I work at a veterinary clinic, so I sometimes take him to work. He stays at home while I'm at work, and during my lunch break, he plays to his heart's content at the dog run. We also sometimes go on road trips on our days off, from as far north as Hokkaido to as far south as Nagasaki. Since I started spending time with Yuki, I've had more opportunities to get outside, even though I used to be an indoor person. He's very happy to go on long trips and sleep in the car."
At first, Kamoshika lived with Yuki, but due to certain circumstances, he had to return to his parents' house where his mother lives. He ended up living with the cats at his parents' house, but he was always worried about whether he would be able to get along with them.
"I was worried that Yuki might attack the other cats, so I separated their living spaces and kept them on a leash even inside the room, and gradually got them used to living together."
Yuki loves going for walks and going outside, but the timid cats are afraid and don't want to take even one step outside the house. 
San seems a little sulky after being scolded by Yuki. Yuki watches over her with a strict yet warm gaze.
Yuki's encounter with two kittens brought out her maternal instincts
A turning point for Yuki, a mischievous cat, came in 2021, when he encountered two kittens. The first one he met was Ren. When he was about two months old, he was found emaciated in a nearby parking lot and was rescued by Kamoshika's niece, who lived next door.
"At the time, cat flu was going around among stray cats in the neighborhood, and the kitten had caught it too, unable to open its eyes or move. However, my niece's father was allergic to cats, so she couldn't keep it, and so we decided to take it in."
The kitten was named "Ren" and recovered safely at the Kamoshika home. Because he was originally timid, he was initially afraid of Yuki and the other cats, but Yuki was the first to open up to him.
"Yuki had already had contact with the resident cats, and perhaps because he had also had experience with kittens at the vet's, he naturally approached Ren, teasing him and looking after him. Gradually, Ren began to trust Yuki and depend on him, and they developed a relationship like that of a brother and sister. However, he is still a bit of a scaredy-cat. Whenever someone other than family comes to visit the house, he panics and hides, refusing to come out (laughs)."
A few months later, Sun was rescued. He was found in a nearby parking lot at about a week old, abandoned by his mother. After many twists and turns, he too was taken in by the Kamoshika family.
"Especially since San came, Yuki's maternal instincts have been turned on. When she was a kitten, she would lick her bottom and help her with excretion, and San would also stomp on Yuki's breasts looking for them. Recently, she has been acting as if she is scolding San, who is very curious and headstrong, as if she is teaching him the rules of dog and cat society. She is really taking care of him as a mother figure."
Even when they fight, they make up naturally. The three of them trust each other.
"Before I knew it, the three of them had started sleeping together naturally," says Yuki. The youngest and most cuddly of them all, San, is still purring and rushing to Yuki whenever something happens, even now that he's one year old. He relaxes on Yuki, using her as a sofa or bed, and on rainy days he sits next to Yuki as she looks out the window, watching the soft rain fall.
Meanwhile, although Ren isn't as attached as San, he still visits Yuki on a whim and starts sleeping next to her. At night, they sleep side-by-side in bed. The three of them have a very secure relationship.
"The cats don't mind being treated roughly by an angry Yuki. Most cats would be intimidated by the power of an adult husky and stay away, but these two suddenly reappear after a while and naturally make up. They then get together again. It's a very soothing sight."
