In 2001, Warner Bros. Entertainment unleashed the box office hit Cats & Dogs, which highlights the intense and seemingly never-ending rivalry between cats and dogs. In the movie, cats seek to end this rivalry once and for all by scheming a plan for world domination. While the plot is rather far-fetched, that plan seems to have come to fruition on Japan’s Aoshima Island, otherwise known as “Neko no Shima” or “Cat Island” where the cat to human population is six to one.

Sandwiched between Ehime and Yamaguchi prefectures in the Iyonada Sea, Aoshima is an island spanning a mere 1.6 kilometers. While Aoshima was once home to 900 people during WWII, the island has become less populated with humans and more populated with cats in recent years. The overpopulation of cats is partly due to the decrease in the human population. During WWII, the island was used as a sanctuary for evacuees seeking refuge from the main islands of Japan. As the war came to a close, local fishermen began introducing cats to the island in an attempt to solve their problems they had with the island’s mice, which were attacking the silk worms that were used to spin fishing nets.

However, Aoshima’s thriving fishing industry was short-lived. Following the war, Japan began experiencing a period of rapid economic growth in what is known as the “Japanese Economic Miracle,” prompting local residents and their children to seek work elsewhere. With less people on the island to keep the cat population in check, rampant breeding among the initial cat population led to the cats overrunning the island. Among the 120+ feral cats inhabiting the island, only ten are neutered.

Today, Aoshima’s history as a fishing island has been replaced with its reputation as a cat colony. Thousands of tourists flocks to Aoshima every year, and more would if it were not for the fact that there is only one ferry that commutes between Shikoku and Aoshima Island. The ferry departs twice a day from Ehime’s Nagahama Port and is limited to 34 passengers. Advanced bookings are not allowed and, unfortunately, many visitors hoping to reach Aoshima are turned away, because the ferry is full. Nonetheless, for all you feline fanatics, Aoshima is definitely a place to put down on your bucket list!