Sato, a pet-loving kindergarten teacher, adopted Kabosu in 2008 and promptly began posting cute photos of her pets to her blog. Two years later, Kabosu began popping up in unexpected places online.

“I take a lot of pictures every day, so that day was nothing out of the ordinary. Kabosu loves having her photo taken, so she ...

Sato posted pictures of Kabosu, and her cats, online regularly. It was a picture of Kabosu, her head tilted in a seemingly quizzical fashion, that captured the attention of early adapters of ...

In 2021, Sato auctioned off seven photos of Kabosu for charity, raising more than 500 million yen ($3.18 million) in total. All of the money, after covering expenses, went to children’s rights ...