[Nyororin]

I agree that the problem isn`t a cultural one.

It is bad manners - but worse than bad manners, it`s extremely irresponsible. There are countless reasons you should not have agreed to caring for the kitten - you`re the one at fault and no matter what happens, you will be (and SHOULD be) thought of badly for it.

Cats can live for 20+ years. Even if you`d not been busy with studying and wanting to travel - you`re still pretty unlikely to be able to stay in Japan for 20 years straight from now. What did you plan to do with the cat when you left Japan? Toss it? Cats aren`t all that easy to find homes for, especially once they`ve grown past the cute kitten stage.

If you didn`t bother to think past "Aww, cute!" and have a little responsibility, you fully deserve to have everyone think you`re an awful person.