14 DAY TRIAL // Unless you're head over heels in love with felines (and totally obsessed with them), you probably don't know this, but there is such a place as cats' paradise. Even better, this magical, wondrous land is here on Earth.
The place is Japan's Tashirojima Island, otherwise known as Cat Heaven Island. This small patch of land sits in the Pacific Ocean, not far from the Oshika Peninsula, and is almost entirely populated by cats.
In fact, it is estimated that only a few dozen people currently live on this island. Stray felines, on the other hand, roam Tashirojima by the hundreds. What's more, they are well taken care of by the island's human residents.
According to Daily Fun Facts, it was people who brought felines to the island decades ago, when the local silk industry was booming. In those days, the cats had one very important job: keep mice away from silkworm farms.
In time, folks living on this island in the Pacific Ocean gave up on the business of raising silkworms. Besides, many moved someplace else in search of a new career and a new life. The cats were left behind, together with a few older people.
Rather than getting rid of the felines, the people who remained on Tashirojima continued to look after them. They now feed them on a daily basis, and even tend to their injuries should any of them get into an accident.
By the looks of it, the felines are so well taken care of because locals believe that having many such felines around brings good luck and prosperity. For some reason, it appears to have escaped their notice that it's the cats themselves that seem to be benefiting from all this luck and prosperity.
The island is often visited by tourists who, after reading about this cats' paradise, cannot help but book a flight to Japan, looking to see for themselves what all the fuss is about. Apparently, it's such people that folks in part of Japan rely on to make a living.
The wackiest thing about this island in Japan is that those who want to visit it are not allowed to bring any dogs with them. Thus, no canines are currently living on Cat Heaven Island, and the folks brave enough to visit this remote patch of land accompanied by one should expect being given the evil eye by locals.
To get a better idea of just how many cats live on the island of Tashirojima in Japan, check out the photo gallery below.
