In the labyrinthine streets of Kyoto’s Nakagyō Ward, where ancient tradition meets contemporary life, lies a clinic that exists somewhere between reality and enchantment. Syou Ishida’s We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat, the charming sequel to her bestselling debut, We’ll Prescribe You a Cat, invites readers back into a world where emotional wounds are treated not with prescriptions or therapy sessions, but with something far more unconventional: cats.
This second installment in the series proves that Ishida has perfected her formula of blending magical realism with deeply human stories, creating a narrative tapestry that feels both fantastical and achingly real. The Nakagyō Kokoro Clinic for the Soul returns with its enigmatic Dr. Nikké and his stern nurse Chitose, dispensing feline companionship to those who wander into the clinic’s ever-shifting location—a building that appears only to those who truly need it.
The Art of Interconnected Healing
What distinguishes We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat from its predecessor is Ishida’s masterful weaving of interconnected narratives. Rather than presenting isolated vignettes, she crafts a delicate web where characters from one chapter become supporting players in another, creating a rich community tapestry that mirrors the interconnectedness of real life. This structural choice elevates the book beyond simple episodic storytelling into something more profound—a meditation on how our lives touch and influence one another in unexpected ways.
The narrative follows several primary protagonists, each grappling with distinct emotional challenges. There’s a young woman whose relationship anxieties threaten to sabotage her romance, a recently widowed grandfather struggling with grief and isolation, a college student navigating complicated family dynamics, and a cat rescue worker whose dedication to saving animals masks his own desperate need for healing. Through each story, Ishida demonstrates remarkable empathy and psychological insight, never reducing her characters to simple archetypes.
The cats themselves are beautifully rendered—from the energetic Bengal kitten who treats curtains as personal climbing expeditions to the lazy, mochi-soft Ms. Michiko whose primary talent is comfortable lounging. Ishida captures the unique personalities of each feline with such specificity that cat lovers will recognize authentic feline behavior in every page. These aren’t anthropomorphized fantasy creatures; they’re real cats whose natural behaviors become metaphors for human emotional journeys.
The Kyoto Setting as Character
Ishida’s rendering of Kyoto deserves particular attention. The city becomes more than mere backdrop—it’s a character unto itself, with its confusing grid-like streets, traditional wooden machiya houses nestled beside modern buildings, and the constant flow of tourists seeking both spiritual and culinary experiences. The author captures the peculiar phenomenon of Kyoto addresses, where locations are described by their relationship to multiple streets, creating a geographical puzzle that mirrors the emotional labyrinths her characters navigate.
The setting serves the book’s magical realist elements perfectly. In a city where ancient temples sit alongside convenience stores, where tradition and modernity coexist in sometimes uncomfortable proximity, a mysterious clinic that appears and disappears makes perfect sense. Ishida uses this cultural context to ground her fantastical premise, making the impossible feel plausible within the specific atmosphere of Kyoto.
Emotional Depth Meets Gentle Whimsy
The book’s greatest strength lies in how Ishida balances whimsy with genuine emotional weight. The premise could easily veer into saccharine territory—magical cats solving people’s problems—but the author treats her characters’ struggles with respect and nuance. Depression, grief, family dysfunction, and relationship anxiety are not solved by simply petting a cat for a week. Instead, the cats serve as catalysts, forcing characters to confront truths they’ve been avoiding, providing companionship that allows vulnerability, and creating situations that reveal character in unexpected ways.
Consider how the protagonist caring for the energetic Bengal kitten must learn to manage chaos and adapt to circumstances beyond her control, mirroring her need to accept uncertainty in her romantic relationship. Or how the grieving grandfather’s encounter with the enormous, lazy Ms. Michiko forces him to slow down and process his loss rather than simply becoming a recluse. The cats work therapeutically not through magic, but through the very real dynamics of caring for another living being.
Where the Formula Shows Its Seams
However, We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat is not without its limitations. Readers seeking more traditional plot development may find the episodic structure occasionally frustrating. While the interconnections between stories provide some narrative momentum, each chapter essentially follows a similar pattern: character in crisis finds clinic, receives cat, experiences revelation, returns cat (or doesn’t). This predictability, while comforting, can feel repetitive by the book’s conclusion.
Additionally, the mysterious nature of the clinic and its inhabitants—particularly the revelation in the final chapter—may strike some readers as deliberately obtuse. Ishida seems more interested in maintaining atmospheric mystery than providing concrete explanations, which fits the magical realist genre but might frustrate readers seeking resolution or logical consistency. The relationship between Dr. Nikké, the nurse Chitose, and the cats themselves contains hints of deeper backstory that remain tantalizingly unexplored.
The pacing also varies considerably between chapters. Some stories, particularly the grandfather’s encounter with Ms. Michiko, feel beautifully measured and complete. Others seem to rush toward their conclusions, leaving emotional arcs that could benefit from additional development. The final chapter, while providing satisfying context for the entire narrative, attempts to tie together multiple threads in ways that occasionally feel forced rather than organic.
The Translation’s Delicate Balance
E. Madison Shimoda’s translation deserves recognition for capturing both the gentleness of Ishida’s prose and the cultural specificity of the Japanese setting. The translation navigates the challenge of conveying Kyoto dialect, Japanese workplace dynamics, and cultural attitudes toward mental health and pet ownership while remaining accessible to English-language readers. Certain elements—like the emphasis on litter box habits as a central concern in cat care, or the formality of family relationships—are preserved in ways that feel authentic without requiring extensive explanation.
For Readers Who Will Appreciate This Journey
We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat will particularly resonate with:
Cat lovers who appreciate authentic feline behavior and the genuine complexities of cat ownership
Fans of gentle, character-driven fiction that prioritizes emotional journeys over plot mechanics
Readers of Japanese literature interested in contemporary stories that blend magical realism with cultural specificity
Those seeking comfort reads that acknowledge life’s difficulties while offering hope without false optimism
Anyone navigating grief, relationship challenges, or family dynamics who might find solace in seeing their struggles reflected with empathy
Similar Reads to Explore
Readers who connect with Ishida’s blend of whimsy, emotional depth, and animal companionship might enjoy:
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa – Another Japanese novel featuring a cat’s perspective on human relationships and loss
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – Explores parallel lives and second chances with similar gentle philosophical questioning
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman – Character-driven story about a grumpy protagonist whose life is changed by unexpected connections
The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide – A more literary meditation on how a visiting cat transforms a couple’s life
The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan – Features a similar structure of interconnected stories centered around a quirky establishment
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi – Another Japanese novel with magical realist elements and emotional character studies
A Gentle Prescription for the Soul
We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat succeeds admirably at what it attempts: creating a warm, empathetic space where readers can explore emotional vulnerability through the lens of human-feline relationships. While it may not challenge readers seeking complex plots or experimental narrative structures, it offers something increasingly rare in contemporary fiction—genuine gentleness without condescension, whimsy without frivolity, and emotional honesty wrapped in feline-shaped comfort.
Ishida has crafted a sequel that deepens and expands her original premise, demonstrating that the formula of mysterious clinic plus therapeutic cats plus human struggles can sustain multiple volumes without becoming stale. For readers willing to surrender to its particular rhythm and accept its magical premises, this book provides exactly what its title promises: another dose of feline-assisted healing, delivered with care, cultural specificity, and profound understanding of both human and cat nature.
Whether you’re seeking escape, comfort, or simply a reminder that connection—whether with people, animals, or oneself—remains possible even in our most difficult moments, this book offers a gentle, whiskered path forward. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself considering a trip to the local shelter afterward. That seems to be precisely Ishida’s intention.