No, it's not April the 1st!

On 1 June 2012 a new Japanese law comes into effect that says that cats that live on commercial premises have to be in bed by 8pm!!!

Maybe they don't know that cats are nocturnal animals and will refuse to go to bed at 8pm lol

I wish them luck in getting them to go to bed, as mine often complain about being sent upstairs, so I can set the burglar alarm last thing at night!!

One Cat Cafe said:

"The law will go into effect on 6/1. Cats are nocturnal. The cats sleep in the afternoon (hence, cat nap, maybe?), and wake up at around... yes, 8PM! This new law is so brilliant, no?!?!

We fought hard to have the law amended before it goes into effect, but the lawmakers don't seem to think that what we had to say was important enough to make changes. Therefore, we will have to send the cats to bed at 8PM, whether they like it or not.

We understand why this law was created in the first place, but something went very wrong somewhere along the way. More on this later, when we release our official press release...

We will stay open after 8pm, but we will have to put all the cats in another room, in the back, where they cannot be seen by customers (the law uses the word "displayed"). Will customers come and enjoy our restaurant, without cats, after 8pm? Or will this poorly thought out law put us out of business?"

The government says the real targets of the tighter animal protection law are late-night pet shops, which often sell dogs and cats around the clock. The animals are kept in small cages under bright lights that are never sitched off.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...82105G20120302

I see, I think we will both agree that that effect of the law is a good thing.

The Cat Cafe did say that they understood why the law was created and that must be why, but the bureaucrats refused to exempt them!!!

Thanks for the link, I was afraid people would think this was a wind up

Not exactly. Cats tend to be crepuscular, not nocturnal.

Domestic cats don't spend most of the night awake and most of the day asleep. They usually spend dawn and dusk awake, and the rest varies.

My cat is happy to go to bed an hour or two after sunset but always wakes me up at dawn!

Just had a visual of Japanese owners chasing cats all over the house to put them to bed, and the cats happily leaping out again, ad nauseum.

Beats me why they couldn't just make the law specific. Too easy for them, obviously.

LOOOL...I have visions of the council inspectors coming round and the cat owners frantically doing something like this to evade a fine!!!:

http://www.stott.nl/wp-content/uploads/Go_To_Sleep.pdf

(For those easily offended, this poem contains strong language.)

That book will go out to all the new parents I know. Priceless.

You're right, cats are most active at dawn and dusk, not during the middle of the night. This is known as being 'crepuscular' because a cat's pray (mice, birds) are also most active in the early morning or evening.

I've just added a new word to my vocabulary!

Me too! It'll make a good insult, cos the insultee probs won't know what you're saying.

LOL, good idea. I wouldn't have known what it meant until recently