Houtong Cat Village (14 Photos + 1 Video)

Once a thriving mining town, this tiny Taiwanese town is now overrun with cute cats.





The Taiwanese village of Houtong was once one of the country's largest coal producers, but when its population dwindled and the town was threatened with extinction, it was suddenly saved from extinction by...an influx of cute cats.



At its peak, Houtong had about 900 households, home to about 6,000 people. However, by the 1970s, the town's star began to fade. As often happens in such situations, young people began to leave quickly in search of opportunities in the big cities. By the 1990s, the mining industry in the area had completely dried up, and the village's population had dwindled to less than 100 people.





Most villages in this situation would simply disappear, but luckily for Houtong, it was saved in an unexpected way. By 2008, the tiny village was home to dozens of stray cats, nearly outnumbering its residents. Seeing an opportunity to breathe some life into their fading but beloved community, its residents began advertising themselves online as a cat sanctuary where visitors could come and commiserate with the meowing mousers that filled the streets.



The image has taken hold, and today Houtong is a fairly popular tourist destination, where people come from all over to see the cats (there are now more than 100 of them) that roam freely around the area. Shops selling souvenirs and related goods have appeared, but the main attraction is still the graceful tailed residents who walk around on their own.





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