Chi’s Sweet Home by Kanata Konami – spotlight

This New York Times bestseller is an adorable story of a lost kitten that is discovered by a little boy who takes him home.  Yohei’s family lives in a apartment where pets aren’t allowed, so they try to hide him, but he is just a kitten and doesn’t always stay out of sight.  While he is adjusting to his new home, the kitten has happy memories of his mother, brothers, and sisters and doesn’t understand why he is no longer with them.  He is having fun with his new friend Yohei and enjoys chewing up tennis shoes and peeing on the rug, although he doesn’t know why the lady person “barks” at him when he does these things.  He takes naps with Yohei and dreams of his kitty family while Yohei’s parents worry about how they will keep him. 

Both Yohei and the cat have trouble potty training; the cat sleeps in the litter box instead of peeing in it, and uses the laundry basket and trash for a toilet.  Yohei still wets his pants, and his parents decide to sit him on the toilet and the cat in the litter box at the same time, hoping the two of them will get the idea that that is where “chi” is supposed to go.  After hearing “chi” yelled at him over and over every time he goes to the bathroom in the wrong place, the cat thinks his name is “Chi” and responds to it. 

This story is funny and cute, with pictures that really capture the sweet nature of the kitten and the boy along with the humor in their adventures together.  There are three volumes of this manga available now, with the next coming out a few days before Christmas and at least two more next year.