Contributing writer

By Angela Townsend*

Pikachu, Miyagi & Kimiko found shelter in the U.S.

It is nearly 8,000 miles from Okinawa, Japan, to Ringoes, NJ. But for a young Marine and an international team of cat lovers, no distance was too far to save three lives.

In 2009, an active duty United States Marine began feeding a mother cat and her kittens outside his apartment. The serviceman was devastated when his housing agency ordered him to stop feeding the felines. Each day the cats grew weaker, and the Marine could not live with their starving to death.

Determined to save the cats, the Marine donated $1,000 — an extraordinary sum for a young serviceman — to have the cats rescued, sterilized and given medical treatment. Alas, the felines were still in grave danger. The shelter housing the cats was to be demolished in mid-2010, at which time the cats would be euthanized by mass gassing.

The Marine contacted the Okinawan American Animal Rescue Society (OAARS), and the American Military community rallied to the rescue. Volunteers led by OAARS president Miyahira San and Americans Amanda and Andrew Nemeth contacted the cats’ only hope of a long-term refuge — Tabby’s Place in Ringoes, NJ.

Even among many OAARS members, it was considered unlikely that Tabby’s Place could possibly want frightened cats from half a world away. But, as a sanctuary for felines in hopeless situations, Tabby’s Place had never restricted cats based on age, personality, medical need or distance. That promise wasn’t about to change with the sanctuary’s first international rescue.

Following a flurry of activity on both sides of the Pacific, plans were made for the three lucky kittens to make their trip to safety.

On April 24, the three tabbies braved a 34-hour flight, and were welcomed into the loving arms of Tabby’s Place staff in New Jersey.

Tabby's Place, where the cats are waiting for their permanent homes.

The team at Tabby’s Place has honored the cats’ Japanese heritage and their remarkable American and Okinawan rescuers by naming them Miyagi, Kimiko and Pikachu.

The cats are now healthy, growing in confidence and available for adoption at Tabby’s Place.

Their mother, Katana, has been taken in by OAARS volunteers Amanda Nemeth and Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Nemeth, stationed at Kadena AFB in the 18 EMS squadron.

For the rescued cats, it’s all a sweet reminder that our Military community does much more than keep us safe.

*

* Angela Townsend is Development Director at Tabby’s Place, a cage-free, no-kill sanctuary in Ringoes, NJ, for cats rescued from hopeless situations.

The Daily Tail commemorates today, Memorial Day, all the U.S. men and women who died fighting for us.