The Book Report #107
Episode #106
We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat By Syou Ishida
The Book
This is the second book in the series and was published in Great Britain by Doubleday, an imprint of Transworld Publishers, in 2025. Transworld is part of the Penguin Random Group of companies. The book was first published in Japanese as Neko Wo Shoho Itashimasu 2 in 2023 by PHP Institute, Inc.
Publication rights for the English version of this book went through Emily Books Agency Ltd and Casanovas & Lynch Literary Agency S.L. My copy of this book is a first-edition hardback with 251 pages and includes a chapter of book three of the series and a bio of the author. E. Madison Shimoda translated this book into English.
What Did I Think?
We continue from where we left off in the first book, where we get the history and the reason why the clinic exists. And while we continue to wait for the patient with the appointment to arrive, we have more walk-ins seeking help.
The Nakagyo Kokoro Clinic for the Soul is run by Dr Nikke and his nurse, Chitose. This book of stories is slightly different from the first, as it focuses on a family or people connected to them in some way. Leading to a revelation that I wasn’t expecting but also loved. Closure for one of the clinic characters.
The story so far: The clinic is located in a set of backstreets in Kyoto. It is on the fifth floor of a building and is accessible to those who require help, even if they don’t realise it at the time.
The clinic was originally used for breeding cats, but the owner did a runner after not being able to keep up with the rent. This led to many of the cats dying and some being rescued.
The people involved in the rescue are the ones the clinic staff are waiting for. They want to thank them by helping them with an issue they are facing before they move on.
It turns out that the people working at the clinic aren’t actually people. But the spirits of the cats that were rescued.
I do have questions:
- Where do they get their stock from? The place is not supposed to really exist, as far as we know. So, where do they get the items they need to help look after the cats they hand out to patients?
- And also, how do they pay for it? I am also wondering if the cats are real. When the patient asks if it’s possible to adopt the cats, they have to go elsewhere, as they do not have access to them. So are the cats; they give out spirits of the cats that do exist. It is nearly explained in the final story of how it works. but not completely enough to explain where the provision comes from.
Apart from that, this series of books is well-written. The mystery, drama and plot are more than enough to keep me coming back. Hats off to Ms Ishida for a simple, wonderful story.
Would I Recommend?
This is a series of nice fantasy dramas. That I believe most, if not all, will enjoy. You get to read about people suffering from mental health issues who are healed in a semi-supernatural way, with the help of cats of all ages. And most don’t know they have a problem until they get the chance to realise and step back for a moment. So yes, I would recommend this to people who love cats.
Please give this a go.
Would you like to purchase your very own copy?
You could try these online stores: Amazon UK/USA and Waterstones. AbeBooks UK/USA, Barnes & Noble, or eBay UK/USA.
Alternatively, you could try your local bookshop or even your local library.
