An adorably ‘furry’ train stationmaster who served for a decade on Wakayama Electric Railway’s Kishigawa Line in Kinokawa, Japan, sadly passed away recently,
leaving its admirers from around the world heartbroken. Nitama, a 15-year-old cat, was appointed as the stationmaster on the Kishigawa Line in 2015. The calico beauty had succeeded Tama, the previous feline stationmaster, and had become the second feline stationmaster at the said line. Tama, too, was a calico cat. However, unfortunately, 15-year-old Nitama passed away in November. On Sunday, December 13, fans got a final chance to bid their goodbyes to Nitama, as a funeral was held for the feline stationmaster at Kishi station. With all of Nitama’s admirers not wanting to skip their last chance to pay tribute to the cat, around 500 people gathered to attend the funeral. From fans and friends to associates of Nitama, many attended the ceremony. As per The Star, the railway company also ended up appointing Nitama as the ‘Honorary Special Stationmaster’, with the aim to commemorate the service the beloved cat gave to the line. Reportedly, Nitama’s appetite had declined in late October, resulting in the dedicated stationmaster passing away on November 20. “She worked diligently and provided irreplaceable comfort,” Mitsunobu Kojima, president of Wakayama Electric Railway and chairman of the funeral committee, was quoted as saying during the memorial address, as per The Star. “Nitama, please watch over Wakayama Electric Railway from heaven alongside Stationmaster Tama,” he continued. ALSO READ: ‘40 Minute Viral Video’ Creates Confusion Amid ‘19 Minute Viral Video’ Controversy! ‘MMS Leak’ Drama Explained As per CNN, Nitama was born in Okayama City and was found under a car on a rainy day. She was later adopted by the Okayama Electric Tramway. Nitama was also a ‘graduate’, as the cat graduated from Cat Stationmaster Training School, where cats are required to display a ‘relaxed attitude’, as far as working with people is concerned. As per Hitofumi Ino, the spokesperson of the Ryobi Group, which is responsible for overseeing the railway, Nitama had learned directly from Tama. ALSO READ: Company Discontinues Casual & Sick Leave– Replaces Them With ‘Hospitalisation Leave’! Internet Triggered “The reason I appointed Nitama as a successor to Tama is that she had teaching experience from Tama directly,” Wakayama Electric Railway president Mitsunobu Kojima was quoted as saying. “Tama was very mild, and she seldom got angry, though she was strict with her subordinate Nitama,” he was further quoted as saying.
