[Nyororin]

I didn`t say that Misericordias WAS an awful person - just that chances are they will be thought of as one for this... And that there isn`t really any easy way to get around it.

I have no idea if there are thousands of feral cats in Japan? 0r what facilities there are for caring for cats and ensuring they are neutered etc.

Cats in Japan tend to be thought of as closer to pests than pets in most situations. People who have pet cats generally simply feed a cat who lives outdoors - a step away from being a stray. Or they have a very expensive purebred.
It is extremely difficult to find homes for mixed breed cats. Adoption from pet shelters is virtually unheard of. Not that they don`t try to find homes for the cats, but as homes accepting pets are so few it ends up being a futile effort. There also tends to be a huge problem with feral cats, which only strengthens the image of mixed breed cats not being pets.

Taking the cat to a shelter is a death sentence - I believe that the figure was 0.3% of animals put into a shelter are adopted.

Too many people take on pets irresponsibly. I really believe that this was a hugely irresponsible decision on Misericordias` part. An awful person? No. But very irresponsible, and this WILL effect how people think of them. The attention levels the kitten needs may have been a surprise, but surely the fact that Misericordias is a student, and wants to travel around Japan should not have been.

And compared to dogs, cats are easy to take care, I can't really understand the problem. You only have to teach them where to go to the bathroom, and that is easy, because they always do their things after eating.

You have TWO cats. There is a huge difference. Two cats will play with each other, and use the other cat for companionship and attention. With a single cat, it is entirely the owner who must provide all of this.

Anyway - I say call the person who gave you the cat NOW and see if they even will be willing to take it back. It will result in them thinking badly of you, but even if it was just a mistake it is a mistake that was made so you need to deal with the consequences. If they CAN take the kitten back, then things have gone easily for you. If they refuse (which is a real possibility depending on their circumstances), you need to start looking for another potential owner ASAP. The bigger the kitten gets, the harder it will be to find someone willing to take it. Most people who do like cats tend to have already taken in a cat (as it`s so incredibly hard to find people who will keep cats, the small number of people who can and will tend to have already been begged by someone) - so the bigger the cat is the harder it will be to find someone responsible. A kitten can be introduced into a house with older cats, but once past a certain age the resident cats will treat them as an enemy.

As a last resort before a shelter - try here. There are tons of people searching for homes for kittens and rescued strays. You may get lucky in finding a home for your kitten.