Cat Island Aoshima, Where Cats Declared Their Sovereignty

Cats are very cute creatures, but if you have more than one cat, they can drive you crazy at times. Alright with hundreds of cats What would it be like to live in the same place? The inhabitants of Aoshima Island in Japan can answer this question because our lovely friends make up the majority of the island’s population.

Aoshima Island or ‘Cat Island’ as it is popularly called almost occupied by cats It has quite an interesting story. Of course, the idea of ​​an island full of cats sounds cute, but after a point, it started to make life more difficult. Let’s take a little journey with you on Cat Island, where cats have declared their sovereignty.

When the islanders get into trouble with rats…

Aoshima is a fairly small island located in the Seto Inland Sea in Japan. It is even so small; Yalova, the smallest province of our country, is approximately 14 times the size of the island. in size. The population of the 1.6 km long island was about 900 people in 1945. Of course, for a living space of this size, the island population could even be considered crowded. But who knew that one day the balance would change?

The people of the island generally made their living from fishing and silk production. But one day the islanders had to share their habitat with a creature that could be quite annoying: Mice! The rats that came out of almost every hole were both damaging the fishing boats and preying on the silkworms used in the production of silk, another livelihood of the island. enough of mice bored people, They need to find a solution to this issue. decided.

They found the solution in cats, one of the biggest enemies of mice.

In the beginning only a few cats were imported. However, with the proliferation of these little mischief-makers, the cat population began to increase rapidly. Since the area of ​​the island was small, cats soon covered the whole place. Entering fishing boats, homes and preying on silkworms the mice had disappeared but now cats had taken over the island.

The number of people on the island decreased to 13 people.

Although the presence of cats everywhere relieved people at first, after a while some people started to complain about this situation. The majority of the island’s inhabitants were middle-aged and older people. island not much when they started to emigrate instead of receiving immigration The human population began to decline. But the cats were still multiplying.

in a short time The cat population has grown to 6 times the human population. and their numbers continued to increase. The human population on the island has dropped to 13 people. The number of cats living on the island has exceeded 120.

Fishing has become a common occupation shared with cats.

Undoubtedly, fish is one of the most favorite foods of cats. Increasing population of cats near shore decreased the number of fish.

Although people trying to survive on the island feed and feed the cats, they they were unable to remove it from the fish. This was one of the main reasons why people engaged in fishing migrated to different places.

To control the cat population, the vast majority of these fluff have been neutered.

Some studies have been carried out to prevent the number of cats from increasing further due to the smell and discomfort caused by the cats on the island. A local cat welfare group In 2014, 79 of 90 cats were neutered. However, since the cats currently on the island are very popular with the public, there was no question of neutering all of them.

Cat lovers flock to the island.

Although the population of the island is decreasing touristic trips increased. Especially in the early days when the island started to become popular, there were so many people who were curious about the Cat Island that people were traveling one after the other on the ferry services. For this reason, flights were increased. Ferries still run twice a day. You can reach the island in 40 minutes by paying 1400 yen (approximately 162 TL) from the town of Nagahama.

When you arrive on the island our lovely friends everywhere you look and step you can see. Moreover, they accompany you from the port to show their gentlemanliness. Of course, most of the people who visit the island do not come to the island empty-handed and offer food. However, as there are no hotels or pensions on the island, it is not possible to spend the night.

Cats became the luck of the island, and dogs were banned on the island.

Although it has caused various difficulties, the people believe that cats bring good luck to the island. Moreover, cats are so loved that in various parts of the island, dedicated feeding areas exists. Of course, the people constantly feed their sweet friends by leaving food in these areas.

The people of the island have also brought some special prohibitions for their lovely friends. By a joint decision a long time ago It is forbidden to keep dogs as pets. In this way, cats can still live as they wish without any threat today. Moreover, they are at work in every corner of the island.

On this journey we took with you today, we visited Aoshima Island, which is full of cats. So, you Would you like to live on such an island? We are waiting your comments.

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