This was such a cute concept and made for some very touching stories. I loved the surrealism of the clinic and the characters of the doctor and nurse there. I loved the way that the cats helped the people they were prescribed to, and I loved the way it was all written in little short stories with lovely illustrations of cats at the start of each chapter.

For most of it, it was pretty light-hearted cosy reading, but be warned the last story will break your heart. It was so emotional. I love a book that really tugs on your heartstrings and this story full of abandoned cats and lost pets really did that very well, though it had a beautiful heart-warming end like all of the stories in this book.

A big thing I enjoy about these cosy Japanese books, is the humour of them. They play with absurdism and surreality and just create something completely unique.

I would love a sequel to this book with more cats. I could read a lot more of these stories.

Loved it! Such a wholesome read. Something about translated Japanese fiction that hits you straight to your heart.

I got a review copy from Netgalley.
My rating is 3.5, but I somehow, can't put that half star.
I picked up this book because of the name. It is Japanese fiction and features cats? Count me in.
The story opened nicely. The ending twist was unexpected even though I had a niggling feeling behind my ears.
Nice book for a one time read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the author for providing me with a free copy to do this review.

Cute story. There's a fantastic element that becomes more apparent later on. I felt it improved the book overall, but could've been introduced gradually and worked into the earlier parts. Several of the characters who've been prescribed "treatment" are a little too unsympathetic.

Early access courtesy of the publisher & NetGalley.

Attention all fans of Asia and cats—finally, a book tailored perfectly to your (our) tastes has arrived! Imagine a doctor who, based on your ailment or concern, prescribes you...a cat. Yes, a living, breathing furball that works like medicine. Is that even possible? Yes, it is! Grab the book and dive into the details! 😊

Picture this: you have a problem, a worry, whether it’s work-related, personal, or something else entirely. You need a solution. So, you head to the Kokoro Clinic for Souls, share your troubles with the doctor, fill a prescription, and then walk out, looking all serious and composed, with your new "medicine" in tow. Follow the prescription instructions, and your problem will be resolved in a week or two. If necessary, the treatment can be extended or shortened—the main goal is that it works. The best part? The medicine is an absolutely adorable kitty, carefully chosen specifically for you based on your concern and state of mind. It’s a cat lover’s dream come true!

As soon as I heard about this book, I had my sights set on it, eagerly waiting and circling around it like a cat around a hot dish. When is it coming? Where can I get it? Finally, the blissful moment arrived, and I got to immerse myself in this long-awaited book. The result? A happy heart, a content mind, and a new recommendation for many friends. Plus, the book arrived at just the right time, when I needed something calming, motivating, and heartwarming to read. This book wraps its reader in a cozy warm blanket and hugs you for as long as the pages last. Nothing shocking, sudden, wild, or mean—just pure comfort.

Each protagonist in the stories has a different problem—a work crisis, a lack of inspiration, complicated relationships, emotional imbalance, childhood trauma, and more. And just as each main character is unique, so are their "medicine cats," each chosen to suit their specific need. Every new chapter is named after the respective cat.

A cute, heartwarming read that treats the reader like a comforting cup of tea, coffee, or hot cocoa.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Random House UK, for this wonderful reading experience and for the ARC copy!

Review in Estonian: https://brixieblog.wordpress.com/2024/09/16/well-prescribe-you-a-cat-syou-ishida/

I loved the book. It has no real beginning or end but is a gentle playful read for the cat lover.
I would recommend

📚 review 📚

we’ll prescribe you a cat - syou ishida

i wish i could be prescribed cats instead of anti depressants- i’m no doctor but i think it might be more effective. in lieu of not having an army of cats to take away my troubles i’ll settle for this book, which reinforces my belief that 1) japanese fiction is wonderfully wholesome and whimsical and 2) that cats really do solve everything.

if you’re looking for something cute and warming this autumn, this is a must. it is one of those books that gives off the same energy as reading in your pjs with a cat purring on your lap, which if you know, you know is one of the best feelings in the world.

if you’re a cat person this is def for you and if you’re not a cat person, that’s just because you haven’t met the right cat yet. maybe you will in these pages?

we’ll prescribe you a cat is out now. thank you @netgalley for the early copy.


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#bookworm #bookblogging #bookblogger #fiction #readerlife #readersofinstagram #bibliophile #bibliophilelife #bookstagram #reading #bookstagrammer #booklover #booksbooksbooks #bookreview

Like other Japanese novels, Syou Ishida's We'll Prescribe You a Cat is a book of short interconnected magical realist stories that have a heart-warming premise with the characters turning up at the Kokoro Clinic believing from word of month that it's a clinic that will solve their mental health issues and being surprised that the outcome of an appoint is a prescription of taking home a cat, which transforms their lives and connections with other people.

It's the kind of book which is ideal for reading on a commute or if you want something light and enjoyable that you can put down.

A cute premise, but it reads too stiff and abrupt that I found it difficult to connect to or enjoy. Would be an interesting Wes Anderson film, where the characters might be able to come to life and provide more depth/complexity.

I received a review copy of this book from Random House, UK, via NetGalley for which my thanks.

A newer entrant to the world of Japanese feel-good fiction, We’ll Prescribe You a Cat (Neko Wo Shoho Itashimatsu) follows the rough pattern/structure of other series like Before the Coffee Gets Cold, The Kamogawa Food Detectives and The Full Moon Coffee Shop in telling a set of stories connected by a place (sometimes in other ways, too), in this case a ‘Clinic for the Soul’ which gives rather unique prescriptions to people struggling with their mental health usually due to the stresses of daily life. No prizes for guessing that this is—a cat! So unlike in some of those series where the cat turns out to be customary or even non-existent (see my review of the first book of Coffee), in this one cats are very much at the centre of things and more importantly their role in the plot is just as what they are—ordinary cats (yes, I know no cat is ‘ordinary’, none of mine are)—reluctant to interact with their humans at first, having the zoomies, purring, escaping from windows, getting fur on things, and such. Originally published in 2023, this translation by E. Madison Shimoda published by Doubleday released just a few days ago (September 2024).

The stories are built around mostly unconnected (except for the last two) people, suffering due to the stresses of everyday life—overwork and disrespect in their company, an annoying new boss, scars of the past, or even a previously lost cat. All of them from word-of-mouth recommendations which reach them through a somewhat complicated network of connections find their way to the Nakagyo Kokoro Clinic for the Soul—run by Dr Nikké and his nurse Chitose. The scenario in which each person arrives at the clinic is much the same—being told that there isn’t much room for new patients but they are being accommodated because the patient expected is late or hasn’t turned up. Dr Nikké’s prescription for each too, is much the same, a cat, but not the same in each case, rather one suited to the patient in question and coming with a prescription—the duration that the ‘patient’ must keep and look after it (10 days to a fortnight) as also instructions as to food and care.

While some of the ‘patients’ might be slightly taken aback at first, most accept their prescriptions as a kind of animal-assisted therapy and willingly take their ‘medicine’ home. The cats (after whom each of the stories are titled) do nothing extraordinary or special, mostly the usual cat-ty things but for the ‘patients’, life begins to change in small and eventually bigger ways, starting from the simplest of things like tidying up (to protect the cat from anything that might prove a danger) to the cat’s antics or ‘songs’ diverting attention from what was bothering them. But do these become their forever cats? You’ll have to read the book to find that out but I will say, it isn’t always so (this isn’t a bad thing, either).

The cats themselves are adorable, ‘shown’ to us through an illustration at the beginning of each story—among them are Bee, a mixed breed with soft grey fur, Koyuki, a tiny white kitten with large paws and a hint of black fur around its ears, Tangerine, a ragdoll, and Mimita, a Scottish fold who looks like an ohagi (rice balls in sweet bean paste), a description that especially stood out to me as I ‘follow’ a cat called Ohagi on Instagram!

There is a fantasy element to the book as well, at first subtle but taking on different shades as we navigate the different stories, becoming increasingly mysterious and also a little strange. Even the clinic’s address—‘East of Tokoyakushi Street, south of Tominokoji Street, west of Rokkaku Street, north of Fuyacho Street, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto’—in the first stories, seems just ordinary, ‘This kind of address was unique to Kyoto’ but also an address that ‘had an obliqueness that seemed designed to keep outsiders away’. But in the later stories, as we begin to see a mystery around the clinic, the address almost begins to sound like a spell (for prospective patients, the confusion and irritation also persist). The ‘magic’ around the clinic works well in the initial stories but as we head to the end, while for patients, things still turn out well, the reader is perhaps left with more questions than answers as there are hints to several things but nothing spelled out. Perhaps something that might clear up in subsequent instalments (there seems only to be one more, also published in 2023)?

The stories themselves are lovely and heartwarming, each ‘patient’ finding a solution they need though not one they might have thought of, and showing how in sometimes subtle and at others not so subtle ways, cats impact our lives for the better. The fantasy element and the mystery surrounding it were strange but had me curious; I’d have liked more clues or answers to it, though.

A book that cat lovers and animal lovers more generally would especially enjoy.

Thank you Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I love quirky slice of life books like this one! It had me hooked from the second story. The stories are interconnected and all about people who are going through a difficult time for different reasons.

You can take the title quite literally, there’s a building in a shady alley with a tendency to disappear but for the people who need it, it’s there and the entrance door gets lighter when their life does.

They all get a cat prescribed, which gives them a push in the right direction by literally escaping and guiding them there or destroying their work papers or oh my I just realized that cats really are up to no good! But they do get their temporary or sometimes even permanent new owners on the right track again. It was very satisfying and even emotional at times.

I loved this one!

An absolutely gorgeous concept - I adore cats and can see how their therapeutic benefits could be used as a treatment for emotional difficulties.

Patients who visit the Kokoro clinic are prescribed a cat with a set of clear instructions of how to care for it.

Sadly the execution didn’t work for me, I felt the writing was stilted and lacked depth - possibly lost in translation? The parts of the book involving the nurse and doctor at the clinic were repetitive and I didn’t feel the “patients” were likeable or relatable - the felt very shallow, but again that could be the translation or just the writing style of these Japanese stories.

It will likely appeal more to readers who love Japanese translations, but it wasn’t for me.

2 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book is a delightful escape for cat lovers (or just someone needing a heartwarming story). *We'll Prescribe You a Cat #1* introduces the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul in Kyoto, a place where you won't get standard therapy. Instead, the prescription is a cat—a fluffy, therapeutic companion to help you heal.

I was drawn to this book because of its unique premise and the fact that it's a Japanese bestseller. Even as someone who's more of a dog person, I found the idea of cats as a form of therapy cute. The book is structured as a series of connected short stories, each following a different patient with their own challenges—whether it's a middle-aged man grappling with feelings of irrelevance or a woman trying to balance work and motherhood. Each person's journey is touched by the presence of a cat, whose personality seems to give the humans something they didn't know they needed.

If you're familiar with Japanese cosy fiction, you'll recognize that format of interconnected short stories, similar to *Before the Coffee Gets Cold* or *The Kamogawa Food Detectives*. If that's your kind of read, you'll feel right at home here. The book has humour, warmth and a touch of fantasy, but it also dives deeper into issues like burnout, depression, and feeling lost or disconnected. The way the cats help the characters reconnect with nature, slow down, and find peace is touching.

Did some of the solutions feel simplistic? Sure, but that's part of the charm. Simple solutions aren't always what's needed, but sometimes, when you're in the thick of burnout or stress, you might not see how they can make a big difference until you look back. This book reminds us that healing doesn't always have to be complicated, even if the process feels difficult.

The translation by E. Madison Shimoda flows beautifully, making this a smooth, easy read. If you enjoy cosy, feel-good stories with a more profound emotional undertone, this is a perfect choice—especially for a rainy day, ideally with a furry friend by your side.

***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
A charming book with more than just a touch of magic. Not necessary to be a cat lover to fall in love with this narrative - at least one of the stories is bound to speak to your soul.

An overheard conversation and a strange address brings five different people to a practice that prescribes cats for mental health issues. The lives of the people is about to change for the better, not necessarily in the way the new owners of the cats envisioned though.

A cosy, if a bit repetitive and predictable, book about how important mental health is, as well as how much a cat can improve your mental health.

“A cat a day keeps the doctor away. Cats are more effective than any other medicine out there.”
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This was such a lovely book of separate but connected stories of different people who are prescribed a cat for a short period to help them overcome an issue in their life. They find themselves at a clinic which people can only find if they are really struggling in life & genuinely need the help.
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As a cat mum I am a firm believer that cats can truly change your life for the better and these stories show how very different people are all impacted by having a cat in their home. It was just such a heartwarming book.
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One of the main themes are the relationship & bond between the cat and person. How the cats provide comfort & warmth. The therapeutic power of cats, our love for them & how healing it can be.
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The magical realism was a really great part of the story and means that the ending is left open for you to interpret. And makes you reflect more on the stories we have read in the book.

This book is the perfect story for every cat lover out there!

Some months ago I lost my beloved cat due cancer and my world broke apart. I was so sad and couldn’t believe that he was gone. But time moved on and I was lonely and missed having a partner next to my side. So as it was written in the book, I recently got 'prescribed a (new) cat' and I couldn't be more grateful for that. He helps me through the grief and pain of losing my beloved Sunny. He also lights up my daily life and makes me smile again, which I couldn’t do for a long time. Even tho I miss my cat dearly, I already love my new buddy.
This book made me realize how amazing cats truly are and that they can *literally* solve every problem. Having a feline partner by your side makes life so much more enjoyable and comforting.

This book really hit home and I feel like I've read it at the exact right time. 4.5 Stars from me!
Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a sweet cosy little book, the main plot is the premise that people are visiting a clinic which can only be found if you're searching for it. A clinic that when entering for a "therapy" assessment all the patients are prescribed a cat!! the patients all get seen and given different types of cats depending on their needs based on the situation they are dealing with. But what can a cat do to help??
This little book shows how each cat can change or make a difference to your life's and even cause a bit of much needed chaos but also in a way you never knew you needed. They help shape and mould your life's and are a great means of support and comfort.
The book covers topics of Mental Health and how it can be perceived with stigma and judgement but also how that can bring about feelings and emotions of anger and frustration of not being listened too. It also show internal judgements and how we diminish our need for help and support in times of need.
A really good book, so glad I got to read a copy!!

I really loved this Japanese bestseller, if you’re a cat lover like me I’m sure you’ll find so much comfort in this book.

It’s a collection of short stories that are connected by the cat prescribing clinic, all have warmth and a message for the reader. The stories are uplifting and leave you feeling happy and content. Especially good to read on a rainy day with a blanket and your feline companion.

The mysterious clinic is the overarching mystery and the cats are smaller mysteries within the plot, I thought it was a clever way to tell the story and it was written and translated very well.

When I started to read this book, I didn’t want to put it down. It had me chuckling from the first few pages. It is sweet, heartwarming and simply splendid. I absolutely love the prescription and deeply wished that my doctor did prescriptions like this! I’m thinking if they did, we could all be a lot healthier, because of the way the prescriptions guide and insist that certain life situations must be dealt with, to support happiness and wellbeing. They are far greater than popping a pill, or spooning medicine. What a wonderful option. This book is filled with magic and I give it 3.5 stars.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and all involved in allowing me an ARC copy of this book.