Japanese cat island reveals all its cats will soon be gone
[size=15.079999923706055px]A heartbreaking end to an island that was once home to hundreds of cats and humans. [size=15.079999923706055px]
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[size=15.079999923706055px]The announcement comes six years after the island began spaying and neutering the animals under the recommendation of the Aoshima Cat Protection Society, who deemed that the 130-strong feline population was too large for the 13 residents on the island to care for, particularly given that the average age of the human population was 75. [size=15.079999923706055px]Aoshima’s resident “Cat Mama” is one of the residents who provides a lot of the care for the animals, and even clears their poop from roads all over the 0.49-square-kilometre (0.19 -square-mile) island every day so the place looks spick-and-span for tourists. With tourist numbers dropping, though, and boat trips from the mainland cancelled during inclement weather, there’s a danger of the cats going hungry, so the 73-year-old Cat Mama stores food for the felines year-round to ensure they never go hungry. [size=15.079999923706055px]
[size=15.079999923706055px]Since 2013, Cat Mama has played a big role in providing a safe haven for the furry animals, but due to her advancing age, the cat paradise’s days are numbered. The above tweet doesn’t beat around the bush with that fact, saying, “When ‘Cat Mama’ leaves the island due to old age, that will be the end of Cat Island.” [size=15.079999923706055px]
[size=15.079999923706055px]Aoshima estimates that there are only two years left for Cat Island, and it’s not just due to the ageing residents, as the cats are ageing as well, with every one of them now over seven years old. It’s a very different situation to the past, when the island was bustling with 655 human residents in 1960, but in the decades since, residents have been leaving for the mainland, leading the island to become overpopulated with stray cats from abandoned homes, and now, the numbers of human and feline residents are at their lowest ever.
[size=15.079999923706055px]https://soranews24.com/2024/09/22/japanese-cat-island-reveals-all-its-cats-will-soon-be-gone/
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Post time 24-9-2024 05:17 PM
Post time 24-9-2024 05:18 PM
