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Eating all the cat treats at Japanese convenience store Family Mart

Oona McGee Feb 28, 2023
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This cute collection covers everything from paw to tail.

Japan has a tonne of special days on the calendar, dedicated to everything from maids to twintails and retort curry.

Even furry animals like cats have their own special day, so when Cat Day rolled around on 22 February, we had our eyes peeled for a way to celebrate. A quick visit to convenience store chain Family Mart served up the perfect solution: cat treats!

Dubbed “Family Nyato“, as a play on “Family Marto“, using the Japanese pronunciation of “mart” and the Japanese word for “meow” (“nya”), these treats are for humans, and we grabbed all ten of them for a taste test.

▼ First up, we have the Bread That Looks Like a Cat Paw (150 yen [US$1.10])

This was an impressive bread to behold — not only did it look like a paw, its plump and fluffy texture made it feel like a paw too!

Being about the size of a human palm, this was a fun treat to eat, and the milk cream filling added an indulgent sweetness to every bite.

▼ Next up, we have the Milk Paw Pad Bun (130 yen).

This was closer to a real-sized paw, and filled with a white bean paste that complemented the milk-flavoured dough beautifully. Soft, supple, and slightly squidgy, this was a cute and tasty way to pay homage to the cute cat paw.

▼ Latte Chocolate Cookie (118 yen)

Sometimes simple classics don’t need to be messed around with, and that was certainly the case here, with a pair of cat ears adding just the right amount of cuteness to this deliciously soft cookie.

▼ Caramel Roll Cake (160 yen)

Like the cookie, this roll cake kept things simple, focusing on classic flavours while adding an adorable touch with brown stripes that resembled the tail of a tabby cat.

▼ Caramel Milk Cream Sandwich (145 yen)

This long bread roll also uses the cat’s tail as its inspiration, adding caramel milk cream in between the folds for sweet bursts of deliciousness in between bites.

▼ Baked Cheesecake (220 yen)

This adorable product has been produced in collaboration with Coony, an illustrator specialising in cats, who has created four different cat designs for the packaging on this particular sweet.

Upon opening the package, we couldn’t help but let out a little squeal at the cute cat silhouette awaiting us inside. It was gorgeous to look at, and fantastic to eat, delivering bagfuls of rich, creamy flavour despite its tiny size.

▼ Chocolate Brownie (198 yen)

This was another cute-looking morsel, shaped like a feline but filled with moist, chocolate flavour that was absolutely delicious!

▼ Mofu Sandwich (225 yen)

“Mofu mofu” is the phrase used to describe something fluffy and soft to the touch, like a cat, and “Mofu Sand” is a brand by cat illustrator Juno.

▼ This treat comes branded with one of four designs by Juno and each pack includes an original sticker by the artist as well.

Smooth on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside, this was a tasty sweet filled with milk cream.

▼ Cafe Latte Soufflé Pudding (328 yen)

This soufflé was so moist and juicy that it let out a tantalising hiss when we poked into it with a fork. Layered from the bottom with latte-flavoured pudding, followed by whipped cream, caramel sauce and the latte-flavoured soufflé, this was one of the tastiest of the bunch!

▼ Finally, we have a drink called Caramel Cream Nyatte (228 yen)

“Nya” means “Meow”, and it’s the sound you might be tempted to make upon seeing the cute cat ears atop the beverage.

The ears definitely helped this drink stand out from all the others in the fridge, and the milky caramel flavoured latte inside made every sip worth the calories.

In fact, the whole collection was worth the calories, as there wasn’t anything here that didn’t appeal to the eyes as well as the taste buds. The only downfall is the range isn’t available year-round so we won’t be able to bite into any tails or paws again until Cat Day next year!

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