“The amount of time you spend together probably matters, but less time doesn’t mean less love. Whether it’s a day or a year, human or cat, and even if we may never see them again, there are those who are irreplaceable in our lives.”

Struggling at work or at school? Feeling stressed? Feeling lost? Something missing from your life? Perhaps all you need is a cat prescription.

"We'll Prescribe You a Cat" by Syou Ishida is a delightful and heartwarming book that explores the unique and therapeutic bond between humans and cats. The title itself suggests a whimsical idea—that sometimes, the best remedy for life's challenges isn't found in a bottle, but in the companionship of a feline friend.

Syou Ishida's writing is both tender and insightful, capturing the essence of what makes cats such beloved companions. The book is filled with anecdotes and reflections that highlight the calming presence of cats and their ability to bring comfort and joy to their owners. Ishida weaves together stories that range from humorous to deeply moving, showcasing how cats can subtly yet profoundly impact our lives.

One of the book's key strengths is its exploration of the emotional and psychological benefits of having a cat. Ishida delves into how cats can provide a sense of purpose, alleviate loneliness, and even help with mental health issues like anxiety and depression. The author’s portrayal of these relationships is sincere and relatable, making it easy for readers—especially cat lovers—to connect with the content.

The idea that cats are attracted to bad energy makes a lot of sense to me. It felt true that when someone is feeling really down, a cat can come into their life to make things better.

“Cats can solve most problems”

Most of the characters were not pet owners, however,  during the prescription period, characters were slowly getting attached and the cats mysteriously worked and helped their problems.

Animals bring comfort to us and losing them was the hardest part. Our lives may be longer than their lives but the memories with them will never be forgotten.

Overall, "We'll Prescribe You a Cat" is a comforting read that celebrates the special bond between humans and their feline companions. It’s a perfect book for anyone who loves cats or is looking for a gentle reminder of the healing power of companionship.

PS. Thank you Netgalley, RandomHouse UK, Transworld Publishers for this ARC. Also congratulations and thank you to Syou Ishida-san, I'm excited to buy a physical copy of this one on its release. 🫶🏻

There is something very special about this book that I cannot put in to a well structured sentence. That what’s really gotten to me, how Syou Ishida builds a sentence like a magician and I learn new ways to think, feel and change how I look at cats. I want to read this book again. I need to buy the audiobook, buy at least four physical copies to my mother, best friend, my boss and husband. This book was pure escapism in the best way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy!

This book reads like a hug. I loved the writing style, it was funny and enjoyable. I loved it and I can't wait for the second book.

The mysterious centre in Kyoto prescribes a cat to do the treatments of the patients. Shuta Kagawa was not happy at work so the doctor prescribed him a grey cat to take care of it for 7 days. After that many more patients come who were going through issues like insomnia, anxiety, guilty and not able to accept unpredictable life. It was miraculous how the different cats cured each of them. This was such a thought provoking and delightful read.

Thanks to the Publisher and Author

I recently finished reading We'll Prescribe A Cat and I’m truly moved by this heartwarming book. The story revolves around the unique concept of prescribing cats to people dealing with various challenges like insomnia, loss of appetite, work troubles, or the grief of losing a pet.

What really struck me was how these cats, who are given to the characters for 10 days or more, help them work through their problems. Although most of the characters start out without any pets, they gradually form deep bonds with the cats. It’s fascinating to see how these furry companions bring comfort and solutions to their issues in ways they never expected.

The book also touches on the profound impact animals have on our lives and the pain of losing them. It beautifully illustrates that while their lives might be shorter than ours, the memories and the love we share with them last a lifetime.

I’m grateful to @netgalley and Random House UK for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this touching story.

'We'll Prescribe You a Cat' is exactly my kind of read.
The premise is simple, the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul only appears to those who desperately need it. Once you meet a doctor, that doctor will prescribe you a cat to cure your ailments.
The cats are more than just ordinary pets, they're therapeutic companions.
This was such a wholesome, cosy and comforting read. I wonder what kind of cat would the doctor prescribe me if I walked through that door.
I highly recommend this book to fans of Japanese literature.

Similar to other Japanese novels on this topic, we meet a number of protagonists with problems who eventually find the Kokomo clinic and are, inevitably, prescribed a cat to help them overcome their problems. As the format is several short stories rather than a continuous novel, we get some character development of the protagonists within the stories but the nurse/doctor/clinic are invariably described in the same way. After the first 2-3 stories, this began to grate. There are cute illustrations of the cats to feature in that story.

A light read but quite generic/formulaic within this genre. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A gorgeously warm, cosy novel. Sure to be a hit on those Autumn nights! I would love to be prescribed a cat.

3.5

We'll Prescribe You A Cat is a sweet little book. As an analogy for how we need to treat ourselves, our family and our pets it serves very well.

The basic premise is that troubled people are given the name of a psychiatric centre that will help them. However once they've managed to find the clinic they meet an aloof receptionist and a slightly crazy doctor whose advice is always the same - we'll prescribe you a cat. As we all know looking after an animal of any kind requires love, care and dedication and this change in attitude seems to help the people who came to the clinic.

As I said, it's a sweet little book that might give you pause for thought about the way we treat our own mental health as well as the ones around us that we say we love and care about.

Unlike some reviewers I've not read any of the slew of feel-good books coming out of the far east so I enjoyed this book very much. It's immensely readable, gives you a warm fuzzy feeling (and who doesn't need that these days) and makes me miss my own beloved cat very much.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House for the advance review copy.

This book remind me with Before the Coffee Gets Cold series and Kamogawa Food Detectives. It's containt several story about people who have mental health issues and then the psychiater will prescribe them a cat to take care of. I thought this book will flat without element of surprise (since it's collected stories), but in the end of book, there is mystery about psychiater's background. However, this mystery still contain plot hole and not really well executed.

It's not an outstanding book that will inspiring you whatsover. But, it's light and heart-warming enough if you are a cat lovers.

It has slow paced story and little character development in each story, What I love the most is because the story is set in Kyoto (I have soft spot for Kyoto 🥹).

Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook.
‘We’ll Prescribe You a Cat’ is a unique collection of interlinked short stories where the different characters in need are prescribed a cat by an enigmatic doctor, with the help of his aloof and equally mysterious receptionist. The different stories explore a number of challenges faced by many and it was lovely to read a reminder of the variety of people’s lives. 3.5 out of 5.

I'm getting tired of these books. It's like an epidemic of trash. This book follows the well established path laid out in Goodnight Tokyo, The Full Moon Coffee Shop, and, of course, Before the Coffee Gets Cold and its sequels. We have a series of lost humans, who find their way to a situation that helps them deal with their issues. This situation, in this book, is getting a cat prescribed to them. While the setting that helps them cope and inflect their lives can be defined as "magical realism", in essence, it's quite realistic.

I am sure that some people would like this. It is well enough written, and the stories are short enough to not bore the reader much. The theme of being lost and stuck in life is quite common, and this book follows in the steps of the others in giving it legitimacy and showing a way forward. A self help book of sorts, if you discount the cats.

That being said, I really disliked it. Beyond the fact it had nothing new to say in the landscape of books that are so similar it hurts, it just didn't have anything special about it. It felt like a set of articles in some run of the mill weekly journal that makes people who struggle with their day to day feel less alone.

I'm certain I'm the wrong audience for this book. If you're looking for anything that will in any way stay with you after reading it, skip this book. If you're looking for anything interesting, skip it. If you're looking to learn more about Japan, skip it. If you're looking to better understand how people deal with their issues with maturity and intellect, skip it.

It's best fit, perhaps, for those readers looking for lighthearted voyeurism into other people's lives, helping the readers feel less weird about their own issues. Cat lovers, I'm sure, would find the book endearing.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with and early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Oh how I absolutely adored this!! I knew as soon as I saw this book title I felt like I was going to enjoy it and it did not disappoint. Such a fun and whimsical read with some really poignant home truths delved into in each character’s lives and the way the story built through each new chapter and storyline and somehow all came together at the end was just magic. In classic Japanese style writing, it leaves the resolution a little ambiguous and allows the reader to form their own thoughts on how things came to be. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone seeking something a little out of the ordinary, something cosy and heartwarming and also anyone who simply likes cats! 🐈 🐈‍⬛ I’ve always been so grateful for my own two rescue cats anyway but reading this book has made me want to hug them a little tighter 💜 ✨ Thank you Syou Ishida, Double Day Books and NetGalley for access to this eARC ✨

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the ARC

A warm hug. That's what I will describe this book as. I love books featuring cats and this book has loads. We follow several people and their cats in their daily lives and it gives the best cozy feel. A heartwarming and sweet character-driven story. Perfect for book and cat lovers all over the world

I loved this book. And I have to ask you all to add this to your TBRs if you love cosy translated books or if you love cats.

The story is about a mental health clinic in Kyoto called “Nakagyō Kokoro Clinic for the Soul”. It’s very hard to find this clinic tucked away in a decrepit building. Each patient who finds their way to this place leaves with a cat. Because that’s what the doctor there prescribes.

When I read the first chapter, I found it okay. I thought it lacked a spark of magic. But boy, was I wrong? As I kept reading, I found that magic and loved it. The stories are relatable & heartwarming with a huge dose of cat cuteness.
There is also a bit of mystery to the whole thing. The last chapter which delves into it left me in tears. My heart broke and I wished nothing more than a cat I could hold onto.

This book is perfect. It shows so many shades of mental health troubles and how a pet can help through them and teach us life lessons.

I can't recommend it enough. I can't wait for it to get released so I can own a physical copy of it.

I absolutely loved this book! Like many Japanese books lately, We’ll Prescribe You a Cat is a collection of tales centering around a mysterious clinic where the only treatment is the fluffy cat you must take home for a course. These cats inevitably change the lives of the person they are prescribed to and as you read on you see how the lives of the characters start to weave as the mystery of the clinic slowly unravels. It’s such a heartfelt book. I had to cuddle my cat as I cried at the end. One for animal lovers as you really reminisce about how your pets have touched your life.

Oh how much I wanted to love this. I love translated Japanese fiction.

First, the positive. It is whimsical and nonsensical and fantastical but in a positive way. And I did enjoy it. It's split into sections, with each section focussing on one character and one cat. And each section is effectively the same. This means that you might want to read it cover to cover like I did, but it also gives you the opportunity to pick up and choose which you want to read. I do love the bond between humans and their pets, which can often be hard to explain.

However, I wonder if maybe I've read too many translated Japanese fiction recently because they all are, at heart, the same, and they're sort of blending into one for me currently. And the way it's written, maybe it's just how the Japanese write or how it comes across in translation, but the tone of it, all of it is very similar to other translated books, which means it didn't really shine.

I can't say I felt a particular bond with any of the characters, none of them stood out and I found them flat. They weren't bad, just a bit vanilla, which meant I wasn't invested in their stories.

Overall it is uplifting and cosy and whimsical and comforting, but it was just a bit too flat.

"Cats can solve most problems. But to get a prescription for one, you have to first come to this clinic and open the door yourself."

It is exactly what it says it is, and I cannot be happier about it. We'll Prescribe You A Cat is such a heartwarming story and is perfect if you need something uplifting, bursting with good vibes, and the right level of introspective, this book is for you.

The story follows different characters who are struggling with a variety of issues - workplace woes, family dynamics, self guilt... And the solution to each? A cat!

Each section begins with a visit to the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul, a mysterious facility that patients learn about by word of mouth. The doctor and nurse are unusual, and their methods of diagnosis pretty much unheard of. Yet, the men and women who visit are greatly helped by the feline friends they encounter.

There is a larger mystery entwined with the smaller plots, and I loved trying to pick apart what was going on. Plus, the short length made this a fun and quick read. Overall, this was a lovely experience from start to finish.

fully compelled to read this from the title and it was actually so good. the writing was instantly captivating and i loved what i took away from the story. i am one hundred percent interested in reading what else has to be offered from this author

When I read the title of the book I was wondering how this 'prescribing a cat' thing was going to work and basically that's it... each of the characters we read in this story is 'prescribed a cat'.

This novel has a certain touch of magical realism, where it deals with problems that can affect any of us, where I managed to empathize with different characters and where cats are the axis of the story.

I think this type of books is becoming more and more popular and it is something that I love because the Japanese have a special touch when writing these novels. 'Iyashikei' is a beautiful subgenre that has a lot to tell us and on top of that when it is accompanied by kittens, it is a thousand times better.

The book is short, but in these pages it tells so many stories and these intertwine with each other and end up forming a beautiful map of connections, kittens and stories.

Thank you very much Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.