Japanese cat island will soon disappear (6 photos)

Aoshima Cat Island is one of the most memorable for any tourist in Japan. And now it turns out that this island is destined to slowly perish and dissolve in time.





It's like a cat cafe, but the size of an island

Who is a mother cat

It's hard to count all the cats on the island, but the last time we counted in 2018, there were 130 cats there, and 13 local residents. These are the richest people in terms of the ratio of cats per person! Especially now. When there are only five locals left.



Cats have a great sense of tsunamis, so they have never died from them during bad weather

And the main cat manager, who was nicknamed the cat mom, has been taking care of the animals since 2013. She walks around the island every day, cleaning it up so that it is tidy for tourists. Only 49 square kilometers. How was it said? Get up in the morning - clean up your planet.





A selection of photos with a cat mother

She also stores food and distributes it among the cats. The fact is that the island's income is unstable. Since Aoshima is located 30 minutes by ferry from the coast of Ozu City, in bad weather all ferries are canceled. And this means - no supplies, no money from tourists, no purchases. And the cats want to eat every day. The fact is that there are five people living on the island. And the cat mother is already 73 years old. And when she can no longer take care of the cats due to old age, this will be the end of this place.



There's also a perky red population there

Moreover, since the government didn't want the cats to reproduce uncontrollably and overpopulate the island, they were neutered. That's why the furry population will thin out year after year until there's not a single cat left on Aoshima Island. Now, every cat on the island is at least seven years old.



Tell me, do Japanese cats have different faces than ours

What a contrast to 1960, when the island had 655 residents. But they left one after another for the mainland, leaving their cats in abandoned houses. That's how the island initially became a cat island - it was inhabited by abandoned domestic cats. Such is the sad origin of the cutest purring island. They don't see any point in repopulating it, since there are no enthusiasts willing to lay down their lives to care for cats on a lonely island until death.



Japanese discuss cat island online, everyone has come to terms with the inevitability of death

So the Japanese decided that let time take the cat island with it, it will become part of Japan and the memory of Japan, but no longer a tourist attraction. A very Japanese Zen approach, but I still feel infinitely sad about it. Nothing mercilessly steals from us more than just time.