Tucked away on the fifth floor of an oíd building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto, the Nakagyó Kokoro Clinic for the Soul can be found only by people who are struggling in their lives and who genuinely need help. The mysterious clinic offers a unique treatment to those who find their way there: it prescribes cats as medication. Pa-tients are often puzzled by this unconventional prescription, but when they “take” their cat for the recommended duration, they witness pro-found transformations in their lives, guided by the playful, empathetic, and occasionally chal-lenging yet endearing cats.
Throughout these pages, the power of the human-animal bond is revealed as a disheart-ened businessman finds unexpected joy in physical labor, a middle-aged man struggles to stay relevant at work and at home, a young girl navigates the complexities of elementary school diques, a hardened handbag designer seeks emotional balance, and a geisha learns to move on from the memory of her lost cat. As the clinic’s patients grapple with their inner turmoil and seek resolution, their feline companions lead them toward healing, self-discovery, and newfound hope.