(Picture: The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)

Every cat lover’s heard of Japan’s amazing cat islands.

They’re whole pieces of land completely overrun with kittens and cats – where even the buildings are cat shaped.

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And people have been flocking over to these feline paradises for years, in order to be surrounded by the blessed creatures.

Cats were originally brought to the 11 islands by fishermen as a way of controlling the rodent populations, and today, dogs are strictly forbidden.


But it turns out that life on the islands isn’t all catnip and light.

The reality is that many of the cats are suffering from health problems that could be easily treated – if the resources were readily available.



Cat photographer Andrew Marttila went out there with his partner Hannah Shaw, who founded cat rescue group, Kitten Lady, to find out what was going on.

‘For us cat lovers, there’s something pretty special about an area littered with dozens of cats,’ Marttila told The Huffington Post.

‘What you’re not seeing, however, are all the cats and kittens suffering from very treatable illnesses.’

So what’s the problem?

Basically, there are just too many cats.

As the islands’ populations grow without any vets on hand, the animals are stuck in a cycle of giving birth and dying early.

‘Roughly one-third of the cats were young kittens struggling with untreated upper respiratory infections,’ said Hannah.

‘Eyes and noses crusted, the kittens huddled together on the warm pavement.’

People on the islands (there are very few) are apparently resistant to intervene because they believe that nature should just run its course – despite the fact that the cats are there because of human intervention in the first place.

Not only are the cats suffering from health problems but tourists also bring a lot of food to feed them and that’s resulted in brutal turf warfare between males.

But some of the islands are finally stepping in and doing something about the problem.

Tokonoshima Island is home to around 3,000 felines and the government has implemented a ‘trap-neuter-return’ programme.

(Picture: The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)

Cats are trapped, neutered or sprayed and given the necessary veterinary treatment before being returned to the wild.

By doing that, officials are not only dealing with the overpopulation issue but also helping curb stressful behaviour. Cats are less likely to scrap if they’re neutered.

Let’s hope the other islands follow suit.

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