8 Purr-fect Manga For Cat Lovers

There's some cute tails here.

8 Purr-fect Manga For Cat Lovers
8 Purr-fect Manga For Cat Lovers

Pet owners usually constitute two major categories: cat lovers or dog lovers. While there are exceptions, if you ask someone whether they’re a cat person or a dog person, you’re likely to get a straightforward answer falling under one of these choices. This piece is for the feline fanatics. If for some unimaginable reason, a cat is not in your line of eyesight right now, you can read these adorably illustrated stories where whiskered friends take centre stage. Discover 8 cat manga with storylines and art almost as cute as the real furballs.

 

1. A Man & His Cat — Umi Sakurai

A Man & His Cat
A Man & His Cat

If you were forced to pick only one book series to read for the rest of your life, consider choosing all A Man & His Cat volumes. Umi Sakuri’s manga about a sweet older gentleman who adopts a rotund, unloved cat brings unadulterated joy to readers on every page.

After watching all his siblings find owners and sitting inside a pet shop for years, Fukumaru the overlooked cat yearns for love. One day, lonely widower Mr. Fuyuki Kanda sees Fukumaru’s unique face and decides to adopt the adorable creature. Together, man and cat learn one another’s ways, discovering a companionship that changes each other’s lives. A Man & His Cat contains an exquisite story where love for a cat helps a man form connections which help satiate his grief.

If there’s one lesson this manga teaches, it’s that everyone deserves love.

 

2. Cat Massage Therapy — Haru Hisakawa

Cat Massage Therapy
Cat Massage Therapy

Cat Massage Therapy has released one volume in English thus far, but this first entry contains enough cuteness to make anyone’s heart overflow with happiness. Inside, a cat who runs a massage parlour, kitten massage trainees, and adorable toe beans await in this full-colour manga.

Knead your problems away at a therapeutic massage parlour run by a fluffy white cat. In Cat Massage Therapy, tense office employee Nekoyama develops an obsession with receiving cat massages and heat relief from talking cats. The cats perform therapy through a variety of different feline-centric methods. Suddenly, Nekoyama’s co-workers also want cat massage therapy.

This is a perfect manga to read while cuddled up with your own furry friend.

 

3. Chi’s Sweet Home — Kanata Konami

Chi’s Sweet Home
Chi’s Sweet Home

Sometimes, reading simple books starring cute cats is all a person needs to unwind from a long day. Chi’s Sweet Home offers 12 whole volumes of delightful, furry fun.

In the first volume, readers meet Chi, a new-born American shorthair cat who accidentally separates herself from her family. Fortunately, a kind couple rescues the kitten from the outside. When their young son attaches himself to Chi, they quickly realise they may have to house the grey furball permanently in their no-cats-allowed home.

Readers watch Chi pounce, pee, and play as the manga puts them in Chi’s first-person perspective. Cuteness is on full display throughout Chi’s Sweet Home.

 

4. Fruits Basket — Natsuki Takaya

Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket

Fruits Basket centres on the 12 Chinese Zodiac animals. While the manga revolves around multiple characters, one central character does take the form of an orange cat quite often.

Fruits Basket follows orphan high schooler Tohru Honda as she stumbles upon the cursed Sohma family. Each cursed to change into a zodiac animal, the Sohma’s learn they must build a mutual trust with Tohru in hopes of defeating their curse. Parental abuse, loneliness, and other heavier topics dwell under the surface of the humourous absurdity.

Admittedly, Fruits Basket always holds a special place in my heart because it was the first manga I ever read. What compelled me to pick up this unusual series was the knowledge that there’s a cat in the primary storyline. And the cat content doesn’t disappoint. If you love cats and brooding bad boys, you’ll be a Kyo Sohma fan.

 

5. Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu — Junji Ito

Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu
Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu

Horror manga master Junji Ito presents an autobiographical standalone manga chronicling his life as a sudden cat owner. Ito intermingles his signature art style with hysterical comedy to depict the real life “horrors” cats can inflict on a household.

Junji Ito’s Cat Diary launches straight into the laughs as J-kun invites his financée, A-ko to move into the house he constructed. When A-ko arrives, she brings a surprise: her two cats have accompanied her to their new home. J-Kun must adapt to his unexpected visitors, felines Yon and Mu, as he attempts to earn their affection – even if the cats are intent on destroying his new place.

Any cat owner can relate to the push-pull relationship defined by heart-melting cuddles and mauled furniture.

 

6. The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again, Today — Hitsuji Yamada

The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again, Today
The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again, Today

Young adults – or everyone, really – wishes they could come home after a long day at a meaningless job and find a hot meal prepared, the house cleaned, and a cosy bed waiting for their arrival. Imagine if your cat took on these responsibilities instead of meowing for food the second you set foot in the door. The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again, Today features a domestic housecat you’ll wish you could adopt for yourself.

Saku, an office worker, would much rather be at home with her cat, Yukichi. When Saku is away at work, the towering, bipedal, housekeeping feline produces culinary masterpieces and keeps the house impeccably clean. Swap a cat for The Way of the Houseband manga protagonist and you’ll find a housekeeper with more talent in his one paw than most people in this hilarious and charming manga.

 

7. The Walking Cat — Tomo Kitaoka

The Walking Cat
The Walking Cat

The Walking Cat ranks highest for the darkest, bloodiest manga on this list. A horror series set during a zombie apocalypse, the anthology manga follows a smart cat as he teams up with different humans trying to survive a shattered world.

Yuki the cat first accompanies young man Jin as he fights for his life against the undead and attempts to locate his wife. Not merely a loyal companion bringing comfort to those who crave a source of joy in tribulation, but the fearless Yuki protects humans when the times arise.

The Walking Cat showcases how people seek companionship. Cats can provide camaraderie and love in exceptional ways.

 

8. Wondercat Kyuu-Chan — Sasami Nitori

Wondercat Kyuu-Chan
Wondercat Kyuu-Chan

Wondercat Kyuu-Chan will brighten readers’ days with a fluffy, full-colour, slice-of-life manga series about a domestic home life living with a cat companion.

Kyuu-chan the wondercat forges a relationship with his owner Hinata. The kitty, a fan of snacks and bow ties, inevitably causes a bit of trouble for Hinata after he adopts the abandoned cat. Yet, nothing stops the two from sharing a bond, proving Kyuu-chan lives up to his wondercat name. Wondercat Kyuu-Chan errs on the slim side, with only a 132-page count bearing a simplistic premise. Regardless, readers of any age can revel in the plentiful squeal-worthy moments inside the manga.

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