Woman murdered after argument with man over feeding stray cats

Friday 28th August, 06:26 AM JST

CHIBA —

A woman was stabbed to death in Chiba on Thursday afternoon by a man who apparently objected to her admonishing him for feeding stray cats.

Police received an emergency call about 1:40 p.m., reporting that a man with a knife was chasing a woman in Funabashi City. Officers rushed to the scene to find Nobuko Okado, 64, lying on the ground, bleeding from her abdomen. The suspect, identified as Kiichi Hayashi, 70, was found nearby and initially charged with attempted murder. Okado was taken to hospital where she was confirmed dead later.

According to police, Hayashi lived in an apartment next to Okado’s house, and the two had been at odds over Hayashi feeding stray cats, something he had been doing since last autumn. Hayashi was quoted as saying: “She kept telling me not to feed the cats, and I got angry.”

News reports

› Login to comment

Latest 15 of 66 Total Comments Show All

gogogo at 06:31 PM JST - 28th August

@dr_jones

It was post on JT last year sometime as news, since JT remove old news I can't find it, I'll post again if I do.
Jbizzle at 08:00 PM JST - 28th August

I hate stray cats. They fight and make to much damn noise. To bad this nut killed bachan over them.
Crimsonsil at 10:29 PM JST - 28th August

People who regularly feed stray animals are heartless fools with no friends. They need the "affection" of animals who come to them for food. And more often than not, as this woman found out too late, they have a violent streak and are infested with hatred of fellow humans.

That's some insight you have there....
Suzaku77 at 10:52 PM JST - 28th August

People who regularly feed stray animals are heartless fools with no friends. They need the "affection" of animals who come to them for food.

you are the definition of an oxymoron....

what makes you think that people whom feed stray cats don't have friends? on many occassions, my family and i have feed a ton of stray cats and i have, not a lot, but a descent amount of friends. not only that, all strays aren't violent and hateful. you're thinking of physically abused strays; the ones whom can no longer trust human kind for the abuse their owners dealt them for no apparent reason at all. either way, these strays--abused or abandoned--still want love and affection. my family took in two stray calico cats and one of them sleeps with her paws clinging to the fabric of the couch from some sort of physical abuse she endured from her previous owners. the one whom was abused cuddles with us, walks on our shoulders to rub her head against ours and sleeps on our chests when she wants to feel love.

sometimes its not the person whom wants love but the animal since they're the ones whom are entirely friendless. all they want is love from a human, not from people who feel they have to to impress somebody or fill a black whole in their life
ritalynn at 01:50 AM JST - 29th August

Okay I love cats as much as the next person but I don't think that there is a need for killing another person over them.

And another thing, how do we know if the cats weren't captured, neutered and released? The story doesn't say that.
Icewind007 at 03:26 AM JST - 29th August

I love cats! I have one stray cat I've sort of adopted as an outdoor cat. There are maybe only one other cat in the area (I think mine is very territorial). But the cat is very friendly and welcomed part of the neighborhood.

But if someone thought it was a bother, I figure that cat would be able to survive on it's own (it eats rats and mice with no problem). Certainly wouldn't get mad at someone for it.
elbudamexicano at 10:22 AM JST - 29th August

Sorry I hate cats! And these idiots who feed stray cats and let them breed out of control should be put in jail! Killing the poor woman for telling him not to feed these cats? This guy needs to hang! Japan should be more strict about stray cats, dogs etc..the SPCA of Japan should have been called and hopefully all of this would have been avoided. RIP poor woman. This 70 year old horrible man should burn in hell!
sageb1 at 02:44 AM JST - 30th August

that cheapskate only fed the cats when he could have captured, neutered and released more cats, and been much kinder to them.
Rutares at 08:58 PM JST - 31st August

I agree she really shouldn't have commented on something like that if it didn't pose a direct issue to HER, but Hayashi was way out of line for what he did. Regardless of the disagreement, that kind of retaliation is never appropriate. This is just ridiculous! May Okado rest in peace.
mnemosyne23 at 02:39 AM JST - 1st September

Feeding stray cats is not just about taking pity on poor homeless animals:

Stray and feral cats can harbor parasites and disease that could spread to domestic pets, particularly if the homebound pets interact with the strays or share some of the food left out for them.

Food left out for cats can attract other, less welcome creatures -- rats, mice and other vermin -- that can spread disease, infest homes, and create unsanitary conditions with their droppings.

Uneaten food can attract flies and other insect pests.

Strays can get into fights and displays of territorial aggression with domestic pets, resulting in injury, infection, or death of one or both of the animals

Strays and feral cats may bite or scratch young children or other unwary people. A cat's bite is awash with bacteria, and can lead to a dangerous, even life-threatening infection. And because a cat's teeth are pointed and designed to puncture rather than crush, bacteria can be pushed deep into a person's tissue.

The possibility of rabies is always a concern, even in urban areas.

People with allergies to pet dander could suffer severe allergic episodes if forced to interact with multiple stray cats on a regular basis, or else have to foot high bills for allergy medications that may only marginalize, not eliminate, their symptoms.

In addition to attracting unwanted vermin like mice and rats, food left out for cats may just as likely attract larger, more aggressive animals. In my home state of NH (in the USA), a bowl of food left out for a cat or dog is just as likely to attract a black bear or a bobcat.

A feral cat can be just as dangerous as any other wild animal. Just because a stray cat looks like a domestic cat doesn't mean it will act like one.

As has been mentioned, leaving out food for stray cats can lead to multiple cats congregating in a certain area, which can increase the chances of those cats breeding with each other or with domestic pets. This in turn can create an unsustainable expansion of the cat population.

It's all well and good to want to care for homeless animals, and if this were a perfect world doing so would have no downside. but this ISN'T a perfect world, and the risks posed by feeding stray cats (or dogs, or other animals, what have you) often outweigh the benefits. Sometimes the best you can do for an animal is leave it alone and let it look after itself.
Klein2 at 12:44 PM JST - 2nd September

Of course I would never kill someone, but we had this problem at my home once. It becomes a persistent nuisance and there is no way to stop it short of killing every last cat. Feces, noise, all manner of diseases. Carcasses. Killing of wildlife, etc. I am an animal lover, and all too often, that means being a feral cat hater. I did not make it that way. That is the world I live in.

I believe that sterilization of cats is a huge financial burden for the average person in Japan.

I moved away. That solved the problem. If the man had contacted me, I would have told him about a guy I knew who was able to find very effective countermeasures against these animals using items you would find around the house. There is after all, more than one way to skin a cat.
techall at 12:48 PM JST - 2nd September

Feces, noise, all manner of diseases. Carcasses. Killing of wildlife, etc.

@Klein2: What kind of cats did you live near, mountain lions?
Klein2 at 01:00 PM JST - 2nd September

Mnemo is SO RIGHT ON! These feral cats are not named Fluffy and Snowball. They spray, they howl, they make a big mess, and kill everything in sight. They dig up gardens. They are worse than vermin. Truly. I would rather have a yard full of poison snakes (and do in fact) than one feral cat.

Cat lovers should understand that no matter how much they like their little kitties, once they are outside, they are everybody's problem, and they don't mind like children do, and they don't have diapers. I, for one, am delighted when one of the regular prowlers comes up missing, replaced by a marauding tanuki or fox, or a nest of hawks in a nearby tree. We had monkeys come through this summer. They are disgusting, but they snack on cats. Keep kitty inside and kitty will live for another day. If they want to walk on the wild side, they take their chances.
Klein2 at 08:36 PM JST - 2nd September

Thanks for asking, techall,... cats kill birds. Lots of birds. Sparrows, sure, but what about pheasants? Have you ever heard a pheasant call? I used to hear it a lot, but not so much anymore around here. They nest on the ground, and they are about gone. The hold their own against the crows and all of the people and traffic, but along comes mommy kitty and her brood and it is game over.

They eat snakes and lizards too. Around here, the only things that eat moles are snakes. Lizards keep the cricket and woodlice population way down. Frogs eat the slugs. We used to have a lot of squirrels too, but they are vanishing.

So it is so nice to think that cats just eat mice, but it is not true. Dogs are pretty clueless and do not seem to make a whole lot of difference in the grand scheme of things, but feral cats mess the whole thing up.

Do you like to grow lettuce? Of course you don't, but if you did, how about a tomcat peeing on your lettuce? What lengths would you go to in order to keep a tomcat from peeing on your lettuce? There IS a point where it is worth getting stabbed, and that lady went there.
Cicada at 05:16 PM JST - 3rd September

mnemosyne, great post!

Sometimes the best you can do for an animal is leave it alone and let it look after itself.

Yes, but I think the "sometimes" is closer to "always" with feral animals.

To the others, yes I may have exaggerated the psychological profile of people who feed cats and pigeons, but I am referring to people who habitually feed them every day on a large scale, without the slightest regard for the effects on neighbors. Nearly always these people are mentally unstable, and unable to form relations with others. That was the case here I think, regrettably.