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Celebrating The Quirky And Playful Side Of Cats: 50 Of The Best Photos By Masayuki Oki
Interview With Artist
For more than ten years, Tokyo-based photographer Masayuki Oki has been documenting the everyday lives of stray cats across Japan. His photos capture them just as they are — curious, sleepy, grumpy, affectionate, and everything in between. Oki has a special talent for noticing the small moments that reveal each cat’s unique personality, turning ordinary encounters on the street into touching, funny, and sometimes surprisingly emotional portraits.
This time, we’re doing something special — a celebration of the very best of Oki’s work. We’ve gathered the top photographs shared on Bored Panda over the years — the ones our readers loved most, voted for, and couldn’t stop commenting on. These are the moments that made us smile, laugh, and maybe even tear up a little. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this ultimate collection of Masayuki Oki’s most beloved cat photos — a purrfect tribute to the street cats that have captured all our hearts.
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nottheactualphoto 3 weeks ago
"Hello" four times. Single voice, two parts, then three-part harmony, then a spoken "Hello!"
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Marlene Ricker 1 week ago
That is one of the cutest cat pictures I have ever seen! I would hang that on my wall if prints were available!
Wonnie-Cookie713 3 weeks ago
:D well that downvoter hopefully knew this was a joke-pun.
Load More Replies...Masayuki’s journey began by chance. “It was New Year’s Eve, and I was very exhausted. I went to a nearby park to have a break, where I met a cat in the middle of the road. From the time I met it, the course of my life changed greatly,” he once told Bored Panda. That cat — Busanyan Senpai — became his first muse and the reason he picked up his camera the next day. “The more I looked at the cat, the bigger an urge I felt to photograph it. A passion was born in my heart.”
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nottheactualphoto 3 weeks ago
I've had all I can stands, and I can't stands nummore!
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Since then, Oki has spent countless hours walking through Tokyo’s backstreets and traveling to Japan’s “cat islands” to meet and photograph new feline faces. He says each cat teaches him something different. “Sometimes I feel as if the cats are telling me to capture the moment, making them my photography teachers,” he shared. “Once you know the quirks, you can predict the future and find the best shooting position.”
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But photographing cats isn’t always easy. In recent years, Oki has noticed that the number of stray cats in Tokyo has been decreasing due to TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) efforts. “Lately, the number of cats I photograph in Tokyo has been decreasing... As a result, my photography days have also decreased, and I often go more to check on the cats’ well-being rather than to photograph them.” Still, he makes time to visit cat islands for longer photo trips, photographing “relentlessly from sunrise to sunset.”
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Multa Nocte 3 weeks ago
🎶 Stray cat strut, I'm a ladies' cat, I'm a feline Casanova (Hey, man, that's that) 🎶
nottheactualphoto 3 weeks ago
Ooh, aah, ooh aah ... get my dinner from a garbage can
Load More Replies...Through all these years, his motivation has stayed the same. “I've always hoped that my cat photos would bring happiness to people around the world, and I approach my photography with that belief,” Oki said. “It might sound laughable, but my feelings about this haven’t changed.”
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Frances Pitchoune 3 weeks ago
My little black cat does this all the time. I tell her every time that she's my favorite Halloween decoration 🥰
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Karl der Große 3 weeks ago
This reminds me of that evolution of moth pigmentation photo that used to be in the biology textbooks.
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B Hobbs 3 weeks ago
"I have a quest for you. You will need some fish, preferably salmon or tuna, very fresh, about a kilo to start with. Some high quality catnip. Your lap looks acceptable, though a large folded bath towel would be helpful. How is your stamina? Can you handle two or three hours of petting and scratching? This will be a great quest [whisper] for one of us."
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Wonnie-Cookie713 3 weeks ago
*me thinking about a sad story about to happen* (sorry I’m in a bad mood bc if @lakota so…)
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ABC NrTen FCK CENSORISM 3 weeks ago
"I'm only showing these paparazzi what I think of them!"
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nottheactualphoto 3 weeks ago
He said something about "me and Mrs. Jones." Evidently they have a thing going on.
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Frances Pitchoune 3 weeks ago
I had a cat like that too! Adorable! I miss him a lot. (He was a boy). I hope that's what the heaven for lost kittens looks like. He was a really good cat. The best.
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April Pickett 3 weeks ago
How do they do that? He looks comfortable, but how did he get there? It's a cat mystery.
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WindySwede 3 weeks ago
Åke learned to pay tribute in cat city, and never enter without any snacks!
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B Hobbs 3 weeks ago (edited)
Later, "Cat! It was a HUGE leaf! It kept trying to wrap around me. I kept shredding it, it kept attacking me. It felt like we fought for hours. Finally the wind picked it up. It is probably two or three blocks away by now. I need a four hour nap now. Wake me up if the fish truck comes."
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Sinead Kenny 3 weeks ago
Wow! Imagine if I had 4 of them instead of these killer pins? I'd be so sleek and fast!
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ABC NrTen FCK CENSORISM 3 weeks ago
"You woof me? What are you, spying for the doggos?"
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Smeghead Tribble Down Under 3 weeks ago
''Go on - 'pss-pss-pss' me one more time. I dare you.''
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Mari Adkins 3 weeks ago
that's so you know they've been captured, fixed, and released.
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Janissary35680 3 weeks ago
How about a mash-up of West Side Story and Cats as performed by a troupe of cats in the style of Babe?.
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Frances Pitchoune 3 weeks ago
"By putting on the most innocent expression in the world, no one will notice that I'm farting."
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Livingwithcfs 3 weeks ago
Half the cat is missing...how does half a cat work? Is he waiting for replacement parts?
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Frances Pitchoune 3 weeks ago
And now ladies, here is Mitten on the catwalk, wearing pink beans, very elegant for the warmer season...
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nottheactualphoto 3 weeks ago
(Since I can't reply directly) WindySwede's picture looks like a late 1960s Jeep Wagoneer.
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