AOSHIMA, EHIME PREF. – An army of feral cats rules a remote island in southern Japan, curling up in abandoned houses or strutting about in a fishing village where they outnumber the humans 6 to 1.

Aoshima, a 30-minute ferry ride off the coast of Ehime prefecture, had been home to 900 people in 1945. The only sign of human activity now is the boatload of day-trippers from the mainland ...

The island, a 30-minute ferry ride off the coast of Ehime prefecture, was home to 900 people in 1945. Now, more than 120 cats swarm the island with fewer than 20 humans, all pensioners aged ...

AOSHIMA, Japan, March 3 (UPI) --A Japanese island with only 22 human residents is drawing tourists interested in its other population -- an estimated 120 cats. The island of Aoshima, Ehime ...

Back in the 1940s, Aoshima was home to around 900 people, many of whom depended on fishing. To tackle a growing rodent problem on boats and in the harbor, cats were introduced.

Aoshima, a 30-minute ferry ride off the coast of Ehime prefecture, had been home to 900 people in 1945 Picture: Thomas Peter/Reuters Credit: Thomas Peter/Reuters ...

It's a cat lover's dream come true, an island where felines outnumber humans. Hoards of feral cats have made the remote Aoshima Island in Southern Japan their home, where they outnumber humans six ...

1 Cats crowd the harbor on Aoshima Island in the Ehime prefecture in southern Japan. An army of cats rules the remote island, curling up in abandoned houses or strutting about in a fishing village ...

Aoshima is a tiny island in Japan's Ehime prefecture where cats outnumber people eight-to-one. The so-called cat island is a tourist destination in the summer, but in the dead of winter the number ...

Aoshima is a dwindling fishing community of elderly people who live mainly off retirement benefits. The cats were originally brought over to the island to deal with mice plaguing fishing boats.

An army of cats rules Aoshima Island in the Ehime prefecture in southern Japan. Curling up in abandoned houses or strutting about in a fishing village that is overrun with felines outnumbering ...