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A heartwarming manga about two loners finding happiness and trust with each other!A kitten, on the verge of death, lies in the snow, only to be rescued by a kind young man, Mano Taiyo. Nursing the ailing kitten back to health, Taiyo names his new charge "Yuki." As a first time pet owner, however, Taiyo struggles with Yuki's very particular palate. This picky kitty refuses to go anywhere near store-bought cat food! There's only one option while he's never cooked a single meal in his life, Taiyo resolves to make a meal worthy of his adorable new feline friend!

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 25, 2020

2 people are currently reading
128 people want to read

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Migiri Miki

12 books

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5 stars
103 (47%)
4 stars
90 (41%)
3 stars
22 (10%)
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2 (<1%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
Profile Image for Mark.
2,818 reviews275 followers
November 13, 2024
If you can’t get enough ‘cute cat and human’ manga, here’s another one. This series snaps in quite neatly between the realistic Cat + Gamer and the fantastical The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today, but it’s harder to say you need this if you have those.

I’ll probably pick up another volume, maybe, although it feels like its exhausted its own premise by the end of the first volume and brought in a dog for a change of pace. This is a labour of love, sure, but the recipes for cooking cat food are pretty mundane; this isn’t Food Wars: Cat Edition.

Mano’s the hapless human who overcomes his dislike of cats and Yuki is pretty dang cute. Toss in a best friend and then a potential love interest from the cat cafe and you have a basic premise that cooks well and serves seven. For the picky reader that might not be enough, as there are certainly more monumental cat stories around. Great for genre fans, but not where I’d choose to start.
Profile Image for Emily.
883 reviews33 followers
December 6, 2024
Just buckets of sweet, and an informational text about how to own a cat. Mano finds a kitten in the snow and brings him home, but the cat won't eat cat food. Mano consults with the vet, and makes a trip to the grocery store for things like chicken breast, a cutting board, a pan, and a knife, because he's the kind of guy who has never cooked for himself before. After days, the kitten Yuki still won't eat packaged cat food, and the vet gives Mano a cat cookbook. Meanwhile, Mano and his best friend go to the cat cafe to learn about more about cat care and behavior. Mano confesses his fears about not living up to his kitten's expectations to the girl at the cat cafe, and she wonders if he is not doing his best and the kitten should be rehomed...

Absolutely adorable, and I like that it's in the conversation about not relying on pre-packaged pet food as our pets' only source of sustenance. Obviously, feeding cats and dogs human-quality meat is not a solution like upscale pet food companies are pretending it is; but cat and dog foods are a huge driver of climate change, other animals' suffering, fisheries degradation, and human slavery occasionally. (The solution is to get rabbits who eat locally grown vegetables and poop compost, because rabbits are the best pets and they rule.) But it's good to have a manga to remind us that packaged cat food is not optimal cat nutrition, a balanced and nutritious diet is. And this book is very, very cute.
Profile Image for kynley.
30 reviews364 followers
December 30, 2024
this is the cutest freaking manga i’ve ever read. especially as a cat owner of two black kitties. one of which was a stray I CRY
Profile Image for Dorothy Nguyen.
29 reviews1 follower
May 8, 2025
Very cute! I now want to cook gourmet meals for my cats.
Profile Image for Kelli.
2,172 reviews26 followers
November 23, 2024
“‘I hope we’re able to get used to things together.’”

My heart—this is SO CUTE & SO SWEET!

When Mano Taiyo finds a kitten dying in the snow, he rushes the poor baby to the vet. After the kitten is revived, Taiyo realizes he needs someone to take him in—and he decides to adopt the kitten. But, taking care of a kitten is no small feat—especially when the kitten is healing and you have never raised a pet before, let alone a sick pet. Taiyo is determined to learn though—and to find something his picky kitten will eat!

Yeah, this is my favorite kind of story.

We’ve got a blend of sweet, cute moments with some very thoughtful and reflective commentary throughout.

I’m very much a sucker for stories where a rescued character ends up rescuing their rescuer—and cat manga as a genre is full of stories like that. This one is shaping to be no different—which, in this case, is exactly what I’m hoping for.

I so appreciate stories that explore how the good things we do for each other and the creatures we share this earth with not small things at all. Rather, these are the choices and the moments that make life so meaningful. Stories like this one—they put more good out into the world. They’re soft and healing. These stories remind us that kindness is its own magic—and it’s right at our fingertips always.

Anyway.

Definitely recommend this series! The first volume is so lovely and sets the scene for a wholesome and adorable story. If you are an avid cat manga fan like me or a slice-of-life reader, I think you’d enjoy this series too~
Profile Image for Susanna.
Author 52 books103 followers
November 23, 2024
Very cute. Mano rescues a kitten from snow, and ends up keeping him, even though he has no life skills and can barely look after himself. The kitten, Yuki, has been poisoned, so he’s very suspicious of food. Desperate, Mano follows the vet’s suggestion of cooking Yuki special food, although his friend has to teach him how to use a knife first.

His friend is a dog owner and helpful when it comes to pets. He takes Mano to a cat café, where Mano meets a girl who seems very interested in the kitten’s well-being. And Mano learns to look after himself better too, even though he still only cooks for Yuki. The ending is a cliffhanger: Yuki has fallen ill, and we have to wait for the next volume to learn how that goes.

This was a calm, low-stakes story told from Mano’s and Yuki’s points of view. For a three-month-old kitten, he’s very intelligent and perceptive, but we’ll let that pass. Art was good and fairly simple.

I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Mystic DreamClouds.
526 reviews12 followers
May 17, 2025
This volume is as cute as the story! The cover is so adorable and it embodies the simplicity, tone, relationship and story altogether!

This was a touching story yet a simple one. It didn’t have any drama, romance or mystery. It’s a simple story of one chance encounter leading to a saved life and a wholesome relationship. The story focuses primarily on Mano and Yuki using a slow measured pace. It captures Mano’s effort trying to help Yuki recover while learning how to take care of a kitten as a first time owner. Alternatively, it’s heartwarming to see how Yuki’s trust forms with Mano’s care and patience.

Both Mano and Yuki are lovable characters. Told in primarily Mano’s perspective, we get to understand his personality and his dedication to take care of the abandoned and recovering Yuki. That said, we also get snippets of Yuki’s perspective and it’s adorable how he warms up to Mano naturally. There isn’t any hesitation or confusion and I loved that!

For the purpose of this story, there were some additional side characters introduced such as, the vet, Mano’s friend and the individual from the cat cafe. They were good folks who supported Mano which helped him take better care of Yuki. However, I felt their role was quite flat and I was left wondering if they will have a greater role as the series continues.

The artwork is simple yet soft and fitting for this story. There are limited backgrounds and details and the manga uses iconography sparingly. However, the emotions and sincerity are clearly communicated by its execution, dialogue and the character’s physical expressions. This makes the moments where iconography or facial expressions used feel special as they stand out as key development points. Additionally, the character designs are uniquely cute and I especially love how Yuki is drawn!

The layout of this story is mentionable. It primarily uses large panels which is surprising given its simplistic approach. I think the volume uses this well, because it also paints the manga as a gentle, warm and inviting story. I also liked how the manga doesn’t shy away from using too much white space per page. Sometimes less is more and this manga really embodies this.

Overall, I enjoyed this sweet story. There may not be a lot of dialogues or drama but it is a calm story that’s healing. I am looking forward to continuing this series.

Read more reviews @ Mystic's Review Shelf
Profile Image for 寿理 宮本.
2,439 reviews16 followers
December 22, 2024
I got this because 1. cat, and 2. my brother's cat has been a picky eater lately, and even though I sent him a photo of the book to encourage HIM to read it, apparently he didn't take the hint, so I had to review it for picky-eater-cat tips.

Verdict: THIS kitten is picky, because he ate poisoned cat food (probably put out to deliberately kill strays), so it's probably not really as much of a help with a cat who's picky from having kidney disease. Don't know, not my cat, but I sent one of the recipes from the book, anyway (chicken breast in broth with bonito flakes).

This story is a nice sort of blend of My roommate is a cat and Sweetness and Lightning, about learning how to cook for a rescued cat with a touch of, "I don't know what I'm doing, please help me!" It's also rather sweet that this inept sort of guy, Taiyo, suddenly finds himself in a position of having to nurture this tiny life, then takes that as a cue to get his life in order.

Absolutely recommended for cat lovers! Not sure how much better it is for those adopted by picky eaters, since the one I know hasn't taken the hint, but I'd imagine the relevance would NORMALLY be better for others than this one picky reader.
Profile Image for Sydney.
443 reviews3 followers
June 4, 2025
Thank you, Penguin Random House, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🐈‍⬛ 4.5 stars 🐈‍⬛

This manga was so cute! In My Kitten is a Picky Eater, Vol. 1, a stray kitten struggling to survive in the snow is found by human Mano Taiyo. Taiyo takes the kitten in, naming him Yuki and nursing him back to health. All the while learning his new cat's unique quirks, like being a picky eater, and how to even be a cat/pet owner, as this is his first time.

I loved the illustrations and how expressive all the characters were, especially our adorable kitten, Yuki. Reading about Taiyo and Yuki learning how to interact with each other was so heartwarming. I am looking forward to continuing the series. I can not wait to see Yuki grow and see how relationships continue to develop with side characters.

tropes: cozy, slice of life, cats, cooking, animal companion, cat's POV
3,214 reviews
February 2, 2025
When Mano rescues a kitten he finds abandoned in the snow, he learns to cook for his picky pet.

In Yuki's defense, he doesn't eat commercial cat food because he was poisoned by some of it and almost died. If I associated the smell of something with suffering, I'd steer clear too.

This manga is adorable with Mano worrying about being able to care for Yuki because he doesn't know how to relate to cats. He goes to a cat cafe to learn how to pet them and finds a new friend. I liked that this book had some actual plot development (in addition to cute drawings of cats) so I plan to read the next in the series.
Profile Image for Zephorah Dove.
471 reviews5 followers
December 3, 2024
This made me want a kitten so bad! As someone who's interacted with cats and cat-sat a few times, seeing some of my random questions in this volume answered was nice. Since I only have experience with older cats, seeing a kitten be so...new to the world was nice.

I like the trajectory of the owner going above and beyond to learn and care for the kitty. I was so happy he didn't bring the dog over to see the cat though. Feels like that would've been a recipe for disaster.

I can't wait to see what happens in volume 2. Will the kitty want cuddles??

Thank you to the publisher for the DRC!
Profile Image for Kimberlee.
484 reviews4 followers
December 30, 2024
Love this. It's super adorable. Two questions: What's with all the cat ownership manga recently? And why does it feel like all these main characters have never seen a cat in their entire lives? They treat them like alien species.
Profile Image for Cassandra.
2,607 reviews23 followers
May 5, 2025
This reminds me a lot of the gamer + cat series nits super cute easy to read. I have been wanting another simple series about cats and humans to enjoy and this meets my wants. I am Sahara San, I too would follow someone that offered to let me near their cat.
Profile Image for Rebecca Whaley.
1,697 reviews32 followers
December 29, 2025
Cute

Bet cute! Sweet story about a guy who finds a kitten in the snow and takes it home. I love it. He learns about caring for a kitten who won't eat normal kitten food so he has to make fresh meals. Learns all kinds of things and meets a new friend. Its too cute! I want more!
Profile Image for R.
2,270 reviews6 followers
April 1, 2025
This manga is so adorable!! I hope I'll be able to read more in this series.
Profile Image for Aurora.
3,679 reviews10 followers
May 2, 2025
It’s cute enough, and a quick read. I like the art. A little sad they’ve immediately set him up with a female love interest after getting my hopes up with his childhood friend, haha.
Profile Image for Jem.
462 reviews28 followers
June 22, 2025
Ch1-47 [completed]

Wholesome slice of life manga about cats <3 that’s it that’s the whole plot
Profile Image for Priscilla G.
85 reviews
November 22, 2025
very cutesy! the main character takes in a stray kitten who is a picky eater because he ate poisoned kibble. mc, who doesn’t ever cook, begins making home cooked meals for the kitten. adorbs!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews

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