In this cycle, we’re going to have a look together on how cats and dogs are doing around the world. Where they are pampered and people forego them and where, to the contrary, the pets suffer and their situation is critical. Today, I will introduce you to islands, where more cats than humans live.
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?
If your cat is going to pee or defecate outside its toilette, it is only seldom just an issue of training or hygiene. Cats are clever animals and they have no trouble to understand, where to go to toilette. Therefore, if they don’t abide the rules of...
We hear about the war in Syria almost every day. But have you ever thought about how does a war affect local animals and that the self-sacrifice must not always be made by an animal for humans, but it can also be the other way around? The person that...
Acupuncture wants to harmonise the body and the mind. Some of you may have tried it, it was a great help to me personally with issues with my back and breathing. Precisely owing to my positive personal experience, the possibility to indulge dogs and...
In the life of any dog, a situation might come up, when it is necessary to put on a muzzle. And if the dog is not used to wearing it, it might mean a stressful situation. I will advise you on how to avoid stress and how to get your dog used to wearing...
Same as in people, also our pets should go to regular check-ups to a doctor. We might neglect this quite often, but it is still something else in animals. A dog or a cat won’t come up to you to tell you, that they’re not feeling well. That’s why an...
You probably have someone among your friends, who has diabetes. However, do you know, that cats and dogs also suffer from this disease quite often?
The name distemper might be familiar to you, but do you know more precise characteristics of this treacherous viral disease? Let’s take it one by one from the historic roots up to the present day
Do you know, what dreams our pets have? Besides myself, also a number of scientists were interested in this question and they came up with various hypotheses. Would you guess what our four-legged friends dream about?
Maybe even you have a small four-legged stressed-out dog at home. In such case, read carefully, maybe you will find something here, what you haven’t tried yet, while trying to get your pet rid of stress.
You have probably encountered the opinion, that much more important than what you’re saying to your dog is how you’re saying it (the tone). But it shows, that dogs are able to understand the human language much better, than we generally credit them for.
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.3px 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} All of us surely likes to take pictures of our pets. However, the photographs don’t always turn out according to our...
It could seem that the smaller the animal, the less care it would require. However, don’t let yourself be fooled. Even if you have a small mouse at home, a rabbit or maybe a guinea pig, you should adapt the care for them to the season and to situations...
