A heartbreaking end to an island that was once home to hundreds of cats and humans. 

Japan is famous for its cat islands, with close to a dozen small landmasses earning the moniker due to their large stray cat populations. However, one of the most famous, Aoshima, located a 30-minute ferry ride off the coast Ozu of City in Japan’s Ehime Prefecture, recently made news by announcing that all its cats will be gone within the next few years.

▼ Cats on Aoshima

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.

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.

▼ Cat Mama

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.”

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.

The future liveability of the island is also in question, as pointed out by the below tweet, which drew attention to the fast-approaching end of the site’s fame as a “Cat Island”.

The tweet reads:

“The Future of Cat Island

The number of cats is gradually decreasing. The felines are getting older. Currently, the cats on the island are all over seven years old.
Since the spaying and neutering carried out in October 2018, no kittens have been born. We think the cats will cross the rainbow bridge in a few years.

There are currently five residents on the island.
As tourists stop coming to the island, there will be talk of reducing or even cancelling the regular ferry service.

When ‘Cat Mama’ grows old and leaves the island, it will be the end of Cat Island.
It’s a sad story, and although we hope that every single cat can live its life out on the island happily, that will be the last we see of Cat Island.”

▼ Soon, these will be the only traces of the cats that lived there.

With “crossing the rainbow bridge” being a euphemism for the passing of a pet, people across Japan were saddened to hear the news, but understanding of the situation as well.

“It’s sad but…it can’t be helped. I didn’t know there were only five people on the island. I’d like to visit.”
“So that’s what’s become of cat island. It’s difficult when the cats keep increasing, but it’s sad to see them go.”
“It’s sad to no longer be able to see the cats, but it’s the right choice.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to Cat Island. I guess even places like this are aging. I hope all the kitties are happy.”
“If we can find a successor who loves cats and can look after them, perhaps the time will come for the Cat Island to be revived again?”

Although it would be nice to see the island spring to life again with a large human population that can support the free-roaming kitties, in reality the end is nigh for this little Cat Island. So if you’d like to support the cats and its five current residents, you’ll want to visit within the next couple of years, before all life on the island disappears, along with the ferry service.

Source: Twitter/aoshima_cat via Hachima Kikou
Photos © SoraNews24
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