Dogs and cats around the world II: Japanese cat islands

You will find several cat islands in Japan, about a dozen. They are called cat, since the cat population there has highly exceeded that of humans. One of such islands is Aoshima. Here live about 8x more cats than humans. It is a little island, only about a kilometre and a half long.

People started to take cats to the island 380 years ago, so that they would get rid of mice that plagued the fishermen boats. In 1945, about 900 people still lived here. However, today, you will find only 16 people here, mostly elderly, who haven’t succeeded in finding a job after World War II. But there are more than 140 cats that live here and the locals say, that the island is a paradise for them.

The cats are fed mostly by tourists, of which there is quite a few. Well, just admit it, who of you wouldn’t want to see an island full of cats :). The fluffies occupy mainly deserted houses or they show off in the fishermen village. And they are not picky at all. They survive mainly on rice balls, energetic bars or potatoes. But their life is void of any fear of natural predators. However, not so long ago, the inhabitants of this island had to ask for help. In winter, the tourism died down because of stormy sea and the cats started to starve. After an appeal, food started to flow from all of Japan and allegedly, the cats have never been happier.

You won’t find a single car or store on the island, not one restaurant or a snack-bar. A ferry comes here twice a day with the number of visitors limited to 34 and the cat lovers don’t complain. The cat population started breeding uncontrollably about 10 years ago, when the number of people living here decreased and there was no one to reduce the number of cats. Today, there are only about 10 neutered cats.

You can view Thomas Peter’s gallery here.

The second cat island is Tashijorima. Even here, the population decreased after the World War II from 1000 to about 100 inhabitants. Most of them make their living by fishing or in the tourist industry. Contrary to Aoshima, you will find several touristic trails here and also one or two bistros.

Even though in 2011 the island was hit by a tsunami, which caused great damage, the cat population has survived this catastrophe almost intact. To this island, cats were imported to get people rid of mice as well. In this case, the mice did not terrorise the fishermen’s boats, but the silkworm moth, a caterpillar kept for silk. Over time, there were fewer and fewer people on the island, while the un-neutered cat population was growing. Today, it is 6x greater than the human one.

Here, the people believe, that feeding the cats will bring them wealth and happiness. According to this tradition, a cat sanctuary was even built here, known as Neko-Jinja. It is located approximately in the middle of the island, between two villages. The cats used to go begging into pubs to the fishermen, who would stay there overnight. Over time, the fishermen started to like them and began to attribute prophetic abilities to them. Following their behaviour, they would determine, how the weather is going to be like or how many fishes there will be.

Would you also like to go and see one of the cat’s island as much as I would?