Shironeko is a Turkish Van kitty who enjoys every minute of his life. He was adopted by an anonymous owner, and his pictures are taking over the world.
Life can be stressful. No matter how prepared you are, the fates always send a surprise your way. These unexpected circumstances and events often to lead to stress, a condition that has negative associations with our health. According to Mayo Clinic, stress affects every single aspect of ourselves, including body, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Because of this, it’s important to try and stay cool and collected in all circumstances— a skill that the following kitty has most definitely mastered.
Interestingly, the Turkish Van breed of cat is described as “active and energetic” by Vet Street. If these photos are any indication, however, Shiro definitely doesn’t fit the Turkish Van mold!
Back in April of 2006, photos of the relaxed kitty surfaced in animal blog circles, and Shiro has been a star ever since.
‘Zen’ is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism that was strongly influenced by ancient Taoism. Because of all this, it seems fitting that Shiro is from Japan. In my mind, he truly is a Zen master, absorbing the philosophical teachings of thousands of Buddhists past.
The world can’t seem to get enough of the cat’s permanent expressions of content. He has come to be known by such nicknames such as “Zen cat” and “basket cat”— the latter due to his love for sleeping in them.
Commenters write, “Such a pudge! I love how he still thinks he’s a kitten.”
“The cutest kitty face everrr”
“Please keep posting more videos of him. He is just too cute!”
Shiro is also reeeeaaallly good at balancing things on his head. Want to throw an orange on there? Go ahead; this kitty is much too relaxed to care.
Throughout Shiro’s fame, the cat’s owner has remained anonymous. It is known that Shiro is from Japan, and judging by the pictures, people suspect he may live somewhere around the historical city of Kamaishi.
A few years after Shiro’s photos went viral, the kitty was introduced to the English-speaking world through his adorable YouTube channel. The owner uploads videos of his cats—who all seem to be the happiest and most relaxed cats in the world.
Shiro is an amazing reminder to find happiness in every moment there is. Too often, as humans, we find ourselves worrying about things that we cannot change. Stressing ourselves out over silly little problems— many that won’t even matter come one year from now. Quite frankly, we could all take some inspiration from Shiro, the Zen master kitty.
The next time life gets hard and you find yourself counting the minutes until bed, try and remember little Shiro— the kitty that teaches us to be grateful for every single moment of life.
