Meet Hatch-chan, Japan's First Blogging Cat

Diary of a mad house cat? Hatch-chan, a six-year-old former stray cat, isn't so much mad as he is spoiled... with attention. And yes, he has a diary - an immensely popular blog (in Japanese, yet) that gets 50,000 hits a day. Dog-gone it, I feel inadequate!

Hatch-chan didn't climb to the top of the Net on his own, of course. If it wasn't for his photographer owners he'd likely still be roaming around a park in Kobe, Japan, begging for his next meal.

But no - thanks to the promotional efforts, photographic skills and social networking savvy of Natsumi Fujiwara and her hubby, the two-toned tabby is the toast of the town.

Nowadays Hatch-chan calls Osaka his home, and he has a nice-sized (for Japan) apartment to pussyfoot around in all day, looking out the window and doing the usual things house cats do.

Except of course, Fujiwara is around to document Hatch-chan's every move for each day's blog posting. Also for his calendar, fridge magnets, DVD and much, much more. It's like The Truman Show... with a kitty instead of a Carrey.

When Hatch-chan isn't busy chasing a ball of yarn or fawning for the camera (or both), he's on tour with Fujiiwara at a department store, television show taping or a "meet the fans" event.

I watched one such purr-sonal appearance yesterday on the Japanese TV show "Pets Pochi Tama", and it was a sight to see... the nonchalant Hatch-chan yawned, stretched and licked his, er, fur in front of an admiring crowd of fans brandishing cellphone cameras and full wallets. The latter were soon depleted by the relentless Hatch-chan merchandising machine.

It's the big time for sure, for this former stray. The only downside? He can only impress the female felines with his catnip-filled bank account - Hatch-chan was neutered in his early days as a stray and bears the characteristic triangular nip on his ear that signifies his cat-stration. Hmm, suddenly I don't feel quite so inadequate. (via hatchan-nikki.com)