Chemical cat sparks alert in Japan

This handout picture taken and released by Nomura Plating on March 12, 2024 shows footprints believed to be from the cat in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture. //AFP

Tokyo, Japan – Locals in a city in western Japan have been told not to approach or touch a missing cat that fell into a vat of dangerous chemicals and then scampered off into the night.

An employee at a metal plating plant in Fukuyama arrived for work on Monday morning to find feline paw prints leading away from the container, the firm said.

Grainy security camera footage released by the company shows the furry fugitive fleeing from the factory, apparently unharmed. The vat, three metres (10 feet) deep, contained hexavalent chromium, which is carcinogenic and can cause skin inflammation.

“We immediately alerted police, the Fukuyama city and neighbours near our factory,” a representative from the company told AFP,…