As Elderly Cats Surge, Money Scent 'Wafts'... Japan's Old Cat Care Business Gains Popularity

9 Million Cats Raised in Japan
Life Expectancy Also Increases, Rapid Growth of Elderly Cats
As Japan's Senior Cat Care Market Expands, China Also Enters

In Japan, known as the "Cat Kingdom" where more cats are kept than dogs, the senior cat care market has recently been gaining attention. This is because as the average lifespan of cats increases, more people want to care for their aging cats as comfortably as possible. Interest is heating up not only domestically but also with market entries declared from China.

On the 1st, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that in Japan, where there are over 9 million cats kept, the number of startups entering the senior cat care service market has been rapidly increasing.

Tokyo-based AI startup "Rabo" sells a device called "Catlog," which can be attached to a cat's neck and allows owners to monitor their cats anywhere through an embedded camera. Rabo plans to introduce a new feature this month that analyzes the cat's sleep using the device. By training AI with medical and sleep data from 30,000 cats, the device's sensors measure the cat's sleep time and compare it with the data to determine if the condition is appropriate. If there is a change in sleep time, a notification is sent to the owner's smartphone.

The device "Catlog" sold by the artificial intelligence (AI) startup "Rabo". (Photo by Rabo website)

Uniam, a company that sells cat food, will release four types of snacks this month specialized in kidney and intestinal environment care. To reduce the risk of urinary tract infections in cats, cranberry nutrients are blended, and oligosaccharides and bifidobacteria that increase beneficial intestinal bacteria are also included.

Another company, Carelogy, reads cats' facial expressions to determine the presence of pain. In collaboration with a university, they collected 6,000 photos of cat faces and trained AI. This system assesses the cat's condition through images taken with a dedicated application (app). For example, if a cat's ears are turned outward or the corners of its mouth are swollen in an oval shape, it judges that "the cat is experiencing moderate pain."

Nikkei analyzed that the spread of such senior cat services is linked to the increase in the number of cats kept. In Japan, the number of cats kept surpassed dogs in 2014 with 8.42 million cats compared to 8.2 million dogs, and has steadily increased since. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cats rose sharply. As opportunities to go out decreased and demand for pets increased, the perception that cats require less care than dogs spread. Last year, the number of cats kept in Japan reached a record high of 9.06 million, which is 2.22 million more than dogs.

Photo by Uniam, a cat food company.

Due to advances in medical technology and other factors, the average lifespan of cats last year was 15.79 years, marking the longest record ever. According to the Japanese Ministry of the Environment guidelines, this corresponds to about 79 years in human age. Cats tend to hide pain, making it difficult for owners to detect it. This background is why more companies in Japan have started to focus on senior cat care services.

As the senior cat care market expands in Japan, Chinese companies are also entering. In China, the number of cats kept is 69.8 million, eight times that of Japan, and many companies provide cat-specialized services. The Chinese cat supplies store "Pidan," which established a Japanese branch, opened a dedicated corner at Tokyo Daimaru Department Store in February last year, beginning to solidify its presence.