Famed Nintendo developer Masahiro Sakurai is preparing to say goodbye to his beloved pet cat, Fukurashi, announcing that the feline’s health has drastically declined over the last week.
Sakurai took a break from posting about his work on the new Kirby Air Riders to update fans about the status of his celebrity cat, Fukurashi, whom he frequently shares on social media.
The legendary game designer revealed that she’d been hospitalized due to her health, explaining that she is suffering from “multiple serious conditions at once.”
According to Sakurai, Fukurashi (a playful take on the Japanese word ‘fukuramu,’ meaning ‘puffy’ or ’round’) was diagnosed with pleural effusion, heart failure, kidney failure, and cystitis.
Sakurai has raised Fukurashi since she was a kitten.
Pleural effusion is a condition where fluid builds up in the space between the lungs and the chest wall, while cystitis is inflammation of the bladder, usually caused by a urinary tract infection.
“Treatment for each one tends to worsen the others, so there’s no longer any effective way to treat him,” Sakurai wrote on X.
“Since hospitalization and so on would cause her a great deal of stress, we’ve decided not to readmit her and will instead let her spend her remaining time quietly at home. I only hope that whatever days she has left will be peaceful…”
Fans gave Sakurai an outpouring of support in the comments section, mourning the cat’s health along with him, as they, too, had come to love Fukurashi over the years.
“Thank you for letting Fukurashi be a part of our lives through the many pictures and posts you shared with us; it was always a joy to see her,” one wrote.
“I hope you can make her final days comfortable, my heart breaks for you Mr. Sakurai,” another said.
Fans mourn with Masahiro Sakurai after update on cat Fukurashi
Sakurai has raised Fukurashi since she was a kitten, officially introducing her to the public in a 2022 YouTube video. In the years since then, he’s posted about her online at least once a month, describing her as “tsundere,” sassy, and “spoiled.”
He initially revealed her declining health in a tweet on November 4, 2025, saying that symptoms first started in early October. Sakurai said the cat’s eyes began to look “strained,” describing her behavior as “listless.”
“She was unsteady on her feet, barely able to walk, not eating, and even failing at the litter box.
Her blood test results were so bad they were off the charts, so she was hospitalized,” he said.
However, being away from home began to cause her stress, so Sakurai brought her back from the clinic, treating her with subcutaneous fluid therapy and feeding her through a syringe.
This heartwrenching news follows the recent deaths of two other celebrity animals. In January 2026, beloved red fox Finnegan died, mere months after his owner, Mikayla Raines of Save a Fox rescue, also died.
Days after Finnegan’s death, beloved gaming dog ‘Artemis,’ the inspiration behind Destiny 2’s Archie, was killed by a neighbor after wandering onto their property.
