This week I learned something both comforting and slightly alarming: my long‑standing obsession with cats is not just personal. It is economic.

After reading about Japan’s so‑called catnomics, the term used to describe the very real money generated by the country’s feline fixation, I had a small moment of clarity. All those years I spent surrounded by cat‑themed everything were not simply the result of weak willpower and good design. They were the outcome of a system that understands exactly how culture, emotion, and spending intersect.

Read more by clicking on the link.

If you’ve spent more than five minutes with me, you know two things:

1. I lived in Japan for quite a while.

2. I will buy literally anything if it has a cat on it.

Japan, of course, turned this harmless preference into a full‑blown lifestyle hazard.

Walking around Tokyo or any Japanese town basically meant being ambushed, lovingly, relentlessly, by felines. They appeared on stationery, on chopsticks, on tea cups, on train passes, on socks, on umbrellas (yes, I owned that umbrella), and of course on an infinite array of snacks. I had long stopped pretending I had any “restraint.” I didn’t. If it purred, pawed, waved, meowed, or even vaguely suggested a whisker… it was coming home with me.

Read more by clicking on the link.