Japanese Railway Company Now Lets Cats Loose Aboard Moving Trains for Passengers

September 12, 2017

As part of a local movement to raise awareness of the culling of stray cats, a Japanese civic group partners up with a railway operator to let loose several cats aboard a moving train for the passengers to play and cuddle with.

The event was hosted by Yoro Railway Co Ltd and was organized by Kitten Cafe Sanctuary, a Non-Governmental Organization, according to Reuters.

Passengers of a local train station in Ogaki, Japan, were surprised last Saturday, Sept. 10, when at least 30 felines greeted them with their cute meows as they board up the train. Some passengers, obviously, couldn’t contain themselves as they sat on the floor and play with the cute cats.

This event was all part of an effort to raise the public’s awareness of stray cats. As said on the report, the number of admitted cats in shelters across Japan has greatly reduced by 70% in 2016 with a total of 72,624 from its data back in 2004 of 237,246.

It also helped reduced the number of cats that are being culled to 45,574 in 2016 from its incredibly high number of 238,929 in 2004. As said on the data, Japan currently has around 9.8 million cat population.

“I think it’s great more people are aware about stray kittens through events like this,” a passenger from western Japan who owns two stray cats, Mikiko Hayashi, said.

Image via Facebook / Reuters via Channel NewsAsia

Share this Article