Sakura Oda has been raised in an environment where cats have been around her since she was born. With the COVID-19 pandemic giving her more free time, she volunteered with her family to provide milk for about a year.
"I've been interested in it ever since I heard about it from the person who gave us a cat. You'll care for two to five kittens almost all day for about a month, teaching them to use the toilet and eat solid food. First, the family takes turns feeding them milk every three hours, and weighing them and recording their weight. They can't eat or use the toilet on their own yet, so you support them. Then you play with them, put them to bed, and feed them again. Sometimes I get so tired while trying to get them to sleep that I fall asleep myself."
Oda says that because they care for the kittens, they should not only enjoy spending time with them, but also remember the harshness of being responsible for their lives. What did he keep in mind when interacting with the cats during this time?
"When I took them in, the people at the organisation told me, 'Just ask the kittens for the rest.' If you think something is different, observe it carefully rather than looking it up online. I was able to spot most of the strange things, such as the tail, eyes, the way the ears stand up, the way the fur is stretched, etc. I also want them to grow up to be cats that people will love, so I treat them as if I were a mother. If they make a mess I get angry, and if the opposite happens I praise them.
When you interact with someone on the same level, you feel like you can communicate their feelings. It occurred to me that I've always had cats in my home, and because I've observed them in this way, I've become someone who is sensitive to changes in the world around me. That's one of the major influences that cats have had on my life."
Feeding a kitten milk. The kitten drinks carefully, adjusting the amount by holding its head and adjusting the angle of the bottle. 
We measured their weight before and after meals to monitor their health. They seem to feel calmer when placed in a small container. 
Kittens sleeping on Oda's feet. "Even though it's hard to take care of them, the cuteness of these moments wins out."
While he would like to take care of children again, he also says that because of the difficulty involved, "I wouldn't recommend it casually."
"As a milk volunteer, you take care of really tiny kittens that have just been born. You get to experience the delicacy and harshness of life more than you would with an adult cat. So I don't think it's wrong to choose not to do it. But I love cats, so I want to devote my life to doing something for them. When the time comes when my environment is right, I'd like to raise another kitten."
Filming cooperation: Protected Cat Lounge "With Cats..."
