I assumed they were all spayed or neutered but this is surprising. They should set up a vet office on the island for sick cats and the un-fixed kitties.

Cat Island is not to be touted as a tourist attraction. A donation should be left by every single tourist for the sole purpose of your recommended trap, neuter/spay return method. To help them is to limit their numbers, as you say. I believe that also, in every situation where they have become a huge colony.

I know that it's bad for the cats but the island it self is abandoned, there are about 96 residents left and about 70 of them are elders, I don't think they get more medical care than the cats themselves. The government decided to not get involved with those island ( not the cats but the residents ).

There's a problem The island is mostly empty Most of the resident who live here is old They probably don't even get as much support as these cats surround them...

You are correct. The cats are bringing them money from tourism. The cats deserve better treatment. First step would to fix and vaccinate.

I think most people, myself included, just assumed that the kitties were being cared for properly. You see all these sensationalized articles on social media about Japans cat islands and they never seem to touch on the real issues of overpopulation and illness

I’m a cat mom and this breaks my heart to see those cats. 😔

I want to adopt them all 😭😭 this island should become a huge adoption center instead of a tourist attraction

Since it has been turned into a tourist spot why not put up a stationary vet clinic manned by real vets funded by the tourist industry itself tit'd work both ways as cats will have a 24/7 health stop on the island and tourism will be ensured of a well spent trip for leisure

It is a cool place but that doesn't mean the cats are happy. They should all be able to live their lives happily and not in fear or injured. I think they should set up a little vet station for sick or injured cats. Even though it is a awesome place to visit some cats need to get better taken care of.

Spaying/neutering cats actually prolongs the lives of cats by reducing their chances of developing reproductive cancers. Similar to humans, cancer is the leading cause of death among older cats. Overpopulation can also cause a lot of stress on the animals, because cats are generally solitary animals. While cats have retained their wild ancestral instincts, if the island has limited resources for the cats to hunt to feed themselves and there is an overpopulation problem, but due to the fact it is an island, it's near impossible for them to migrate away to search for food. So with that in mind, yes it _IS_ the responsibility of humans to look after their welfare. Remember the cats aren't native to this island. This scenario is man-made, not a bunch of wild felis silvestris lybicas living in north Africa (where they were originally from). Nor are they truly feral and living in an environment that can support them. To those who worry that fixing them would cause the island to lose its cat population, don't worry if the majority of the cats are fixed, a small number can still go on to produce enough young to sustain a more healthy number. How do I know this? Because cats are prolific breeders! The average litter of cats is 1 to 8 babies and 2-3 litters annually. One cat could have 100 to 180 kittens in her lifetime. However, her entire generation could include 49,000 offspring and grand offspring in only 10 years! And that's just *ONE* female cat. So even if the whole island had only a breeding pair of unfixed cats left, it will become overrun again within just a few years. Basically, these island cats _need_ to be spayed and neutered.

I lived in Okinawa for 4 years and there’s tons of cats there as well. I actually rescued one and he’s the sweetest boy ever. In Okinawa all of the local vets were running a catch spay release program. The mamasans and local people left food and water out for the cats as well. They weren’t tourist attractions so I think people were more inclined to stop the population growth and try to heal/feed the others.

"The cats live naturally and they die naturally" I don't understand why people say this is cruel? it's nature in it's natural form, that's the way life works. you don't feel bad about kicking a raccoon but letting a cat live naturally is cruel? these cats survived their asses off until they die naturally. if you really love animals you wouldn't feel bad about this not unless you just love cats ONLY that's why you you think this is cruel. These cats weren't mistreated, there's no cruelty in this system people.

My uncle owns a cat sanctuary in Italy (Gatti di Su Pallosu) and there's nothing but care and love with the cats. There's over 50 of them, each one is neutered and vaccinated, all of them are fed, there's just an amazing abundance of love for these babies. It's on the island of Sardinia, you don't have to pay to get in, but donations for the cats are accepted. The only upsetting thing is that cars drive by and they ignore the speed signs, so unfortunately there were some deaths.

I agree with you! If the cats are getting sick they need a vet to take care of them and spay/neuter to keep the island from being overcrowded.

THE BABY KITTEN THAT YOU ARE FEEDING AT THE BEGINNING IS SO ADORABLE!!!!!!! IT'S SO CUTE I'M GOING TO DIE!!!!!!!

A TNR program is the ethical choice. I've read some comments, and want to correct some misunderstandings. The cats on the island don't exist in feral state. The cats are fed by the residents. For those advocating that nature take its course, understand that this is not a natural situation. From an economic standpoint, the cats must be kept healthy if a tourist industry is to be built around the island. Japan can't very well have hordes of rabid cats attacking tourists. Consider this from an insurance standpoint.

I've always wanted to go to one of these islands, I've always loved animals especially cats and I was quite surprised that I didn't think of the fact that most of them are most likely sick, I'll do what ever I can to help the helpless innocent cats that live there. As soon as I'm an adult.

My friend adopted a cat from one of those places. She saved it's life; it had had kittens, but they all died, and she was terribly skinny and small.

One of the most popular cat island actually has silver population so they aren’t able to take care of the cats. The cats were originally brought there to moderate the rat population. The people can’t exactly do much as they don’t have the resources to help the cats as they have a poor economy. It was never meant to be a tourism site.

I would love to live on the island and stay there to help all of the ones that need it.

I saw a video titled something along the lines of "a cat that won't stop meowing", it was filmed on some cat island in Japan but can't remember which one and I'm quite sure the cat is in serious danger. I had an internship at an animal shelter and we got a cat that wouldn't stop meowing, we thought he was just very attention seeking because he loved people. but then after a couple of weeks being there he puked and it was nothing but worms and stomach acid, we immediately gave him the medication against internal parasites after that (we originally wanted to get him castrated first, for some reason the medication has to be given at least 2 weeks before any kind of surgery). and after the parasites were finally gone and he actually got to eat for himself and not a bunch of worms he stopped meowing as much. we didn't expect a young cat to have that bad of a problem with worms at all... we got to notice that he was actually underweight too his stomach had just been so bloated by the amount of worms. that's why I think the cat in the aforementioned video is actively dying of starvation... the people on those islands really have to start caring for the cats, they are in pain and shouldn't be just left to "naturally die" because there's nothing natural about their situation. I'm really worried about how so many of the cats seem to have badly deformed tails, it affects their balance quite heavily I expect. and I'm hoping that it's because at some point some individuals of the tail-less cat breed have gotten in there and not because the cats are so incredibly inbred.........

i cannot imagine anyone who loves cats going to an "attraction" like this. with the cats being sick and un-neutered....an oddity at best, but not in the best interest of THE cats. it just proves that people will take any opportunity to make a buck without caring how they make it. thank you cat lady, bless you for your work.

The grey and white cat at the tail end of the video is absolutely adorable:)

I, too, assumed that the locals cared about the welfare of the cats on the islands. The human population may not have set out to create a tourist attraction, but it happened and they are now willfully exploiting the presence of the cats for financial gain, expanding businesses and travel capacity to the island for tourists. The "natural population, natural life cycle" line doesn't fly once you actively start doing things like buying a bigger boat so that you can bring over more people, and building new cafes for them. It seems the residents don't necessarily mind being a tourist attraction, they just don't want to invest the resources to care for what's bringing in the tourists. If they're going to now exploit the presence of the cats, it seems only right that they now have to assume some responsibility for their health and also responsibility for managing the population through TNR programs, not just through allowing kittens to become sick and die from unchecked illness. I'm glad that you're bringing to light the reality of the situation. People need to know just how bad things are there for so many of the cats, and also that the humans don't care. It's deeply troubling and upsetting, and I hope that word spreads

I want to live on a Cat Island and just... Freaking hug them all.

Thank you for your strong message and devoted advocacy for these cats. So much awareness and action is needed to help their plight. I am inspired by your compassion and courage to lead others.

I hadn’t heard of more than one cat island, and the one I heard of had all but 10 cats spayed and neutered. I expected a fun, sweet vlog. I didn’t realize how bad this was(not complaining about this vid). It really makes me want to help

Warriors confirmed

thanks for sharing and bringing awareness to this issue. japan is a beautiful country and most of those cats look pretty healthy. considering their situation. its sad to see they are living this way and are continuously growing in population with no care. hopfefully they will get the attention they deserve love your videos

I love cats so much this just breaks my heart seeing all these cats here,I have a cat he is a Bombay cat I also had one that died. 😿 r.i.p

1 - Thank you so much for this eye-opening video! I think most people assume they are cared for and loved, without realizing how much more they need. 2 - As a Manx momma, I was so happy to see some short tailed felines AND to see that no one was surprised by this! It’s a little thing, but it brings joy! I love your videos! After watching this, I’m curious how much you might know about Manx cats, and if you could share any of your knowledge? We found our little girl (our second cat) when she was a week old and is now going on 3 years! She is an orange tabby rumpy Manx named Pumpkin. The medical differences we’ve learned about have really been interesting! We didn’t realize how much of an impact not having a tail has on the rest of her body. Thank you for all of your insightful videos! 😸

As a vet student I would love to go there and took care for them as a vet. This is sad but not surprising

I wish someone will help those cats

Thanks kitten lady, my dream was visiting one of those cat islands thinking since I'm a cat lover that would be paradise, but now you've made think critically about issues I haven't taken into consideration. This video opened my eyes to the reality these cats are living.

Very nuanced video on what occurs. Thanks for taking the time to investigate with a critical mind but also to be open minded about the situation. I hope this message reaches a lot of people to raise awareness of the situation.

I don't think letting them live and die naturally is cruel BUT these cats are pretty much an attraction, think of the island as a cat petting zoo. if ANY zoo let their animals get sick and leave them sick then people would be in an up roar about it. so I think the island should at least try to keep their cat population healthy.

OMG these kitties need to be fixed and better taken care of. Poor kitties ☹️

Where my grandma lives there are tons and tons of stray cats and are very friendly whenever i visit i feed them scraps

wow, i had no idea. i have always wanted to visit too. i assumed that because it was a popular destination all around the world, these cats would be healthy, well-cared for and spayed or neutered. its heartbreaking. i'm so glad that you have raised awareness on this matter even though this was 3 years ago. people will continue to acknowledge these facts because of amazing people like you. i really hope with all my heart that they did something to improve these situations now in those cat islands. and if anyone knows if they did then please let me know. and if they didn't i hope they will in the near future and i will do my best to raise awareness too. thank you so much for what you do.

If they build this cafe I hope a % of profits will be used for the health and welfare of all these beautiful fur-babies. I think it's utterly sad that the population over there do not believe these cats need any medical help. I would love to see a group of volunteering vets, veterinary nurses and additional support from general public could go out there and try to help/neuter etc. If everyone could give just 1 day think how much could be achieved. Would be fabulous. On a positive note how lucky are these cats to have such a beautiful location and be able to roam freely. I hope in winter they have warm, snuggly places just for extra comfort and there general wellbeing. Xx

I found this video quite upsetting. I've met people before, in my own country the UK, who believe animals should not receive medical attention and should be left to die 'naturally' - these people were elderly and this view seems to be dying out, the sooner the better. These cats aren't really wild anyway, their ancestors were domesticated otherwise they wouldn't be so friendly to people, and living in such close proximity to humans and being so tame, we have a duty to help when we see they need it. We are supposed to be custodians of this planet, taking care of it, and the other animals we share it with. We are all evolving together, as humans become less aggressive and more loving and compassionate the planet will change and so too will the animals. When animals are kept in the wild, they are ruled by fear, this holds us all back from evolving.

Breaks my heart. Ive always wondered the questions you addressed.

Thank you so much for that insight on that travel destination and it's current situation. You are probably the first real video I have seen about this. Hopefully this wont turn into a bigger crisis for these cats

Thank you so much for the information! I truly thought people tock care of the cats on these islands, but I guess I was wrong :( I'll be sure to visit the website that you recommend!

This actually surprised me. I always wanted to go there but not after seeing the real deal on this video. I always assumed they were well taken care of :(

I love how Hannah is just casually feeding that little kitten baby!!So cute!🥰😍

Thanks so much; I'll take your word for it, along with the video you shot. I may go someday (bc it's an interesting concept), but this year is much too soon, it'd seem. Thank you for shedding some light on this issue.

The problem is that cats aren't really wild animals, they are reliant of humans. That's how they have been evolving and even breeded. They aren't part of natural fauna of Japan so they can't live naturally without humans.

They should use profits from the new ferries to pay for veterinary care

Thanks for telling the real story and letting people know how to help. Look forward to hearing that things are getting better for kitties!

Thank you for going there and showing what it is really like for these cats. I hope that the Japan Cat Network can find a way to run a TNR program for the islands. It would be great if some of the vets would volunteer some time time to go there and treat the sick cats. I have two cats I rescued a couple of years apart, both have feline herpes and you have to take care of them. The first one I got as a kitten looked a lot like the one you showed when I got her, she was so sick, it took a couple of back to back treatments to get her to 100%; she's done great since then though. And she's 4 now.

So sad :(

I wouldn't be able to go without crying the whole time... 💔

I would agree with you.. So sad :'( I see many cats in your vids are having eyes infections.. Aren't there any cat lover community in japan who can do something?

My shelter and I just TNRd over 30 cats on a nearby cat island!! Thank you SO much for making this video. Some of the orphaned kittens we took to the shelter are really sick, but the locals consider them a nuisance and chase them away. Many people don't even neuter their pet cats here, so it's really helpful to have a video like this.

What's wrong with their tails it's like some of them had deformed tails? As a cat lover I find the island interesting but now I feel sad inside because I know those cats are not well taken care of.

When I die I want to be buried in a cemetery full of cats

Found this vid today. Hope the island folks have made efforts to improve. Meanwhile recently found a stray cat near my home who wasn’t well. Just took it immediately to the vet ASAP. It’s a happy catto now. Just gonna say that if you can make a change, smallest possible. It’s good enough and better than doing nothing :3

I bet your gonna hit 1M soon and I can’t wait until u do u are a brilliant KZfaqr and well deserving of that title I am a huge cat fan and I own two myself so it’s brilliant to hear what u have to say as when I take what u teach us all into account it helps me do so much to make my cats happier so thank you have a nice day 👌👍

My mum watches you on Instagram and I watch you to but I didn't know you had a KZfaq channel. I love what you do with cats and to cats, helping them out no matter what

I understand what she says about the natural life and death of the cats, but it would be much happier for the cats to have treatment and be spayed/neutered. Tourism can help support money for it as well.

Praying for more kind of people like you who loves and take care cats ....me and my daughter has 17 cats at home 9 are indoors and the rest stay outside the house and us feed them regularly ...thanks for this video

Once I'm financially able to I will definitely support their efforts to help the kitties ♥

The cats were never meant to overpopulate. They were meant to get rid of rats. The cats were left feral, hence the reason why they are not "fixed" or given vaccinated. If cats are to be near people, they should be taken care of. Dead animals make for unsanitary conditions for human living, and the cats shouldn't be suffering either.

About me being a cat lover, I don't know if this is a dream or a nightmare?

Kitten lady the stuff you do for all cats is amazing. Your awesome

I knew about the islands before but was never aware of any of this. Thank you so much for making this

this is so sad!!Thank you for spreading the word!!

Thank you for sharing. I am a cat lover but also have volunteered at shelters. I had heard of these islands but something about them never sat right in my stomach. I always volunteered in Shelters of cities that have care for when it is kitten season. I can't imagine what it might be like at these islands without our care. Some of my friends will share the images of these places and I would respond oh how cute but I never would say anything else because I don't know. I now know about these places through this and I can share my knowledge. I want to do more like you have by showing that I love cats more than wearing a silly sweater with them on it. I want to be an advocate for their safety and survival in this world. So again Thank you! I am sharing this.

Wow all these cats of different color and breeds getting along. Who would have ever thought.

Thank you for your coverage on this!

reality is lemons and the internet's my lemonade

So glad that you were so honest about your experience. These islands are always fantasised by the media and people, including me, get caught up in the idea of 'cat paradise'. So I'm thankful that you've shed light on the not-so-fantasy side of the island!

I would love to live on one of these kitty islands and help take care of the kitties!!!!

Thanks for this important video. I have bumped this week into a bunch of cats videos from one of cats islands I believe and I have immediately noticed some cats have health issues and infections...

This is very typical in Hawaii, everywhere you go or look there are feral cats . Kittens get dumped everywhere and kittens get put down daily by human society or just people. Kids aren't taught to respect them so they throw kittens in the street in some areas. That is how i have Bones he was found thrown in the street by my son. And so he tries to save them but vet care in Hawaii is expensive. No one cares!! People have found dead cats at the beaches that were used for bait and drowned!! No one teaches anyone to respect them. Hawaii is just not the paradise people think it is. 😒

Most people will see a Island full of cats.... I see a Island full of Warrior Cats.....

I'm so glad you shared this! I always thought that "cat islands" were sanctuaries for feral or stray cats that operated with spay and neuter vaccinations and vet care! I'm so sad that it's completely the opposite!

Thank you for spreading awareness about this island. I'm happy to hear that there are groups helping out these furry friends.

This was so wonderfully informative. Thank you! I was so intrigued by the idea of cat islands but also skeptical as I've seen how things we glorify as a amazing in other countries are being trampled and ruined by tourism. As a fellow cat lover I appreciate you taking the time to show people that it's not all sunshine and rainbows, but in a non-aggressive way. Anyway, awesome job :)

Seems surprising they aren't caring more about the overpopulation problem humans are obviously responsible for causing. I feel like the income from tourism should be used to care for the animals.

Great story! You are excellent reporter!

I loved this video. It really brought out a new perspective to what is happening on the cat islands. I totally agree that we need to focus on the health of the cats that live on the islands.

Domesticated animals belong in someones home or on a farm and not left out in the wild to fend for themselves. By definition we humans are responsible for them.

Places like this need to look to DINGO in Venice as an example of how to deal with these problems.

The sadness of that island I’m so glad you are informative and showing people what’s going on people need to be taught how to treat animals

Thank you for bringing something so serious to light

very interesting video.. but why don't you produce a second version of this video with Japanese subtitles so that potential Japanese cat welfare advocates might become aware of the issue?!

Im very surprised by the locals "thoughts" on the cats. I would have thought at the VERY least they would be doing TNR to help control the populations.

Cat Island always fascinated me and I want to go visit there. Unfortunately it's not possible, so thank you Kitten Lady for showing us the island. : )

Poor kittens/cats!!! I’m about to cry..

k, warrior cat lovers! what should this clan be called?

Loved your article.

This is the very first video I see here in you tube that telling about the conditions of the cats in japan cats island.

Great opening eye video. I just assumed they were being taken care of fully.

Cat islands is what nature would do to cats in the wild. Its a harsh life, but thats just how nature is. You dont see people offering drinks to animals living in the desert either.

about time someone talked about this. cat islands, bunny island, and the fox village are all equally bad in Japan - in fact the fox village is even worse, as they keep hundreds of foxes in tiny cages, only letting a couple dozen out to the open area every day. when you go there, you'll notice it stinks of fox spray, and they're all screeching at each other and fighting for space.

It's also nice to know that there are other people as passionate about cats as Kitten Lady. That means there are others throughout the world that take care and rescue cats. I personally love cats, so this is a great comfort to me.

Thank you for ur responsible reporting