Aoshima, the remote island in southern Japan, has one attraction besides fishing – cats, and lots of them.

The island originally brought cats to help get rid of its mice problem. The cats multiplied and now there are more than 120 cats all over the island, NBC News reports.

Some of the cats take shelter in abandoned houses and others walk around in public like they own the island. They almost do own the island; there is a cat-to-human ratio of six to one.

In 1945, Aoshima was home to about 900 people. Now the island is pretty much a ghost town, except for the cats of course. Activity on the island is mostly tourists taking a boat over to see all the cats.

There are no places to eat, no shops or cars, but tourists love coming to see the cats.

"There is a ton of cats here, then there was this sort of cat witch who came out to feed the cats which was quite fun," 27-year-old Makiko Yamasaki told NBC News. "So I'd want to come again."

The cats do not fear attacks from other animals because there are no natural predators on the island. They roam the island looking for food usually given to them by tourists. The cats will eat rice balls, energy bars or potatoes.

People who do live on the island are trying to keep the population of cats down. At least 10 cats have been neutered, according to the Huffington Post via Reuters.

Most residents on the island do not mind that tourists come over to see all the cats, but they do wish to be left alone.

"If people coming to the island find the cats healing, then I think it's a good thing," 65-year-old Hidenori Kamimoto, a fisherman, said.

"I just hope that it's done in a way that doesn't become a burden on the people who live here."

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