Stray cats help reinvigorate struggling restaurant amid pandemic

• Naoki Teraoka’s restaurant was doing poorly amid the pandemic — until a band of stray cats saved the day.
• The cats, which lounged around the restaurant’s miniature railway diorama, attracted many customers.
• The restaurant has since expanded to include a second-floor cat shelter and kitty hotel, where customers can adopt cats.

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Godzilla is usually portrayed as a destructive villain in many films. But these “Catzillas,” who love lounging in a restaurant’s miniature sets, ended up saving the day.

The pandemic had a big impact on Naoki Teraoka’s restaurant business.

But just when he thought he might have to close up, a stray kitten helped turn the tides.

Teraoka couldn’t turn away the sickly kitten, so he and his family adopted him and named him Simba. Shortly after, another cat, who turned out to be Simba’s mom, appeared. In the following days, the mama cat appeared with three more kittens.

“It was a financially difficult time for us, but we decided to help the cat family,” Teraoka shared. “Yes, we thought we were helping them, but they were the ones who helped us.”

When the cats made themselves at home and lounged in the restaurant’s miniature railway dioramas, it made for a whimsical sight. The cats looked like they were towering over the landscape!

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A post shared by Naoki Teraoka (@diorama_syokudou)

Teraoka decided to capture photos and videos of the cats in their tiny locomotive world and shared them on Instagram.

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A post shared by Naoki Teraoka (@diorama_syokudou)

The photos were a hit! People loved getting a glimpse of what it would be like to ride on the train and spot a giant cat.

Teraoka was inspired to transform the restaurant to accommodate the cats and their fans.

The restaurant became a cat sanctuary where customers could interact with the cats while they hung out around the model trains.

Customers could even adopt the cats!

With the reinvigoration of the restaurant, customers started flowing in and their popularity skyrocketed.

Teraoka was able to expand their operations. Their restaurant now has a second-floor cat shelter and kitty hotel.

Teraoka has since traveled about 200 miles to search for rescue cats that are at risk and in need of a forever home.

He has already helped find homes for over 60 stray cats!

Teraoka and his family saved the lives of Simba and his family despite his own family’s financial troubles.

Their generosity definitely bore fruit!

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A post shared by Naoki Teraoka (@diorama_syokudou)

You can see more of these cats on Instagram.

Source: Good News Network