The complex relationship between outdoor cats and tourism

Cat Island, otherwise known as Aoshima, Japan, became a social media sensation a few years ago as a result of its vast number of cat inhabitants. With over one hundred cats on the island, cats outnumber people six to one. Aoshima is a mile-long, unpretentious fishing island, previously unknown to travelers. But then cats were introduced onto the island to help reduce the mice population. Without proper spay/neuter programs in place, the cat population and, subsequently, the number of tourists grew. Aoshima is not the only tourist …