Tama

"Wow, the sun is really warm and relaxing today. Let's start the morning off with some grooming! My coat is my pride, after all."

- Tama

Tama (タマ) is a secondary character featured in the fourth part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Diamond is Unbreakable, introduced in the "Cats Love Yoshikage Kira" story arc.

Originally a street cat hit by the Arrow, Tama is taken in by Yoshikage Kira after becoming a plant-Stand hybrid named Stray Cat.

Appearance
Originally, Tama is a dark furred cat with light-colored eyes. He has a stocky body, thick coat, short ears, and a medium-sized tail. There is a large hole in his neck produced after being impaled by the Arrow.

After being reborn as a plant, he initially has two large, curved petals, a thick stem with two sepals functioning as arms and two lower sepals resembling feet, and aerial roots surrounding the stem. Inside the petals are two large ovals with his eyes and filaments in between. He also has a mouth where the petals converge. Surrounding his mouth is a pattern of long, dark spots.

After maturing as a plant, his petals slightly close, overlapping each other and giving him a rounder head shape akin to when he was a cat. His eyes and filaments stick through the petals, and his mouth gains teeth and fangs. The spotted pattern moves from the bottom of the petals to the upper portion and are smaller with circles within them.

Personality
Tama is a typical cat who is stubborn and territorial to his spot in the cellar when Shinobu Kawajiri attempts to chase him out. When his Stand ability manifests, he resurrects as a plant with the memories of his previous life and because of this he has similar characteristics of any normal cat. Like all cats, Stray Cat has a hunter instinct and is seen chasing after insects, thrown pieces of paper, and birds. He is proud of his former fur and tail. He loves running and jumping but cannot do so as a plant. Stray Cat likes tuna, shrimp, sticking his head in paper sacks, watching TV, and being praised. Like all cats, he dislikes direct eye contact, having his nose blocked, cigarette smoke, wasabi, oranges, and being cold. After Kira's defeat, he gets along well with Okuyasu's father and takes a liking to him.

At first unaware that he is a plant, he soon learns his predicament and hates Shinobu Kawajiri all the more for it.

Stray Cat is vindictive and aggressive, and the acquisition of his power makes him confident in his ability to fight anyone. He considers anyone who hinders him to be an enemy and will seek to eliminate them with his bubbles, be it Yoshikage Kira protecting Shinobu from him, Hayato Kawajiri trying to close the window on the plant, or anyone giving the impression of attacking him. Kira uses that aggressiveness to his advantage against Josuke Higashikata. Stray Cat is also vicious, as seen when he tries to kill Kira by pushing a bubble into Kira's bloodstream and his heart. He bears a deep grudge against Shinobu, who hit him with a broom and will attack her on sight.

He retains his laziness as well from when he was a cat. For his winter plans, it's stated that although he wants to stay active, Stray Cat plans to sleep a lot under the.

Stand
Stray Cat allowed Tama to resurrect himself into a sentient plant that retains his intellect and personality from when he was formerly a cat. His ability also allows him to manipulate the surrounding air and form air bubbles to shoot at enemies.

Diamond is Unbreakable
Tama was once a normal cat that was hit with an Arrow while peacefully lazing about by a tree. He takes refuge in the cellar of the Kawajiri household where he is killed by a broken glass bottle when Shinobu Kawajiri tries to chase him out. After being buried in their garden, his dormant Stand ability brings him back to life as a cat-like plant named Stray Cat.

Cats Love Yoshikage Kira
Upon reincarnating as a plant, Stray Cat is confused by his new nature as a sentient plant but otherwise isn't really disturbed. When Shinobu Kawajiri wanders near him, Stray Cat remembers that she tried to beat him with a broom and instinctively shoots a bubble at Shinobu's toenail, ripping it off. Shinobu is unaware of what caused this and retreats to her home. Satisfied, Stray Cat kills a bird with his bubble and licks its blood.

However, Yoshikage Kira has witnessed the attack. Perplexed about what to do with Stray Cat, he tests the plant's aggressivity. Shinobu comes back, warning her husband that the place is cursed; forcing Kira to try to kill the plant before she can see it and raise suspicion. Likewise, Stray Cat sees Shinobu and prepares to attack. Kira summons Killer Queen, turns a nearby pebble into a bomb, and rolls it towards Stray Cat. However, the plant creates a void around it, preventing Kira from igniting the pebble. Shinobu approaches, allowing Stray Cat to shoot a bubble straight at her chest, taking her out.

Kira is now determined to protect Shinobu and kill Stray Cat. The plant shoots a couple of bubbles that Killer Queen deflects. When Killer Queen tries to stomp the plant, he creates a bubble that makes Killer Queen's foot slide to the side. Stray Cat then shoots a slow bubble that explodes near the garden's cacti, propelling thorns at Shinobu. Kira manages to protect her face. Although Kira is confident that he can defeat the plant after working out his power, he's taken by surprise when Stray Cat makes two bubbles enter his vein through a wound, threatening to cause an embolism. Kira is forced to blast part of his arm to make the bubbles exit his body. Stray Cat prepares his next attack, but then Kira throws a golf ball at the plant, distracting it. The fight ends in a draw.

Kira pots Stray Cat and hides him in the attic. Eventually, Hayato Kawajiri, who has been investigating his father, sneaks into the attic. When the boy opens the window, the light reinvigorates the plant. As Kira comes back home, Hayato tries to erase his traces and close the window. However, Stray Cat shoots several bubbles to bind him and prevent him from doing so. Hayato quickly understands the nature of the attack and pops the bubbles so that the leaking air closes the window. Hayato then scatters cat food to frame Stray Cat for the noise he caused. Kira checks on the attic and is fooled.

Another One Bites the Dust
Hayato Kawajiri becomes the host of Bites the Dust, an ability that kills anyone who interrogates Hayato about Kira and rewinds time to one hour before.

Hayato takes Stray Cat from the attic and hides him in his backpack. When Kira finally approaches Hayato to confront him, the boy opens his backpack. The furious cat-plant shoots an air bullet at Kira, hitting him in the chest. However, Kira is protected by his watch. Kira still ends up revealing his name in public and is overheard by Josuke Higashikata and Okuyasu Nijimura.

Crazy Diamond Is Unbreakable
Kira is forced to cancel Bites the Dust and must fight the two students. He takes the plant and stores him inside of Killer Queen's belly, subsequently referring to him by his Stand's name. In there, Stray Cat keeps shooting air bubbles at those he sees, which Killer Queen turns into flying, invisible air bombs. This fearsome combination inflicts a mortal wound on Okuyasu, which Josuke still heals. Stray Cat continues shooting bubbles for Kira's use during most of the battle. Eventually, Josuke is able to face Kira in a close quarter fight. While Crazy Diamond is definitely stronger than Killer Queen, Stray Cat protects himself (and thus Killer Queen and Kira) from Crazy Diamond's punch with bubbles, allowing Kira to create another bomb while Josuke is too wounded to move. However, Okuyasu then intervenes. He erases the air bomb and teleports Stray Cat to his hand with The Hand, depriving Kira of his ally.

After Kira's death, Stray Cat goes to live with Okuyasu's father, and is shown to get along well with his new owner.

Gallery
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Trivia

 * Araki states he based Tama/Stray Cat off of his grandfather's cat named Chako. As a child, they both doted on it but Chako scratched Araki when he ignored it one day. Araki has since been suspicious of cats as a result.