Me-wow this village has an odd fe-line about it.
Houtong in northern Taiwan has earned itself the nickname ‘cat village’, due to its extensive population of stray cats.
Once a coal-mining settlement, Houtong’s human residents started to leave once the industry declined.
By the end of the 1990s, fewer than 100 people called Houtong home. But a number of furry residents have kept the village from falling off the map.
In 2008, locals started sharing photographs and videos of their efforts to look after the village’s stray cats.Â
Their work drew the attention of visitors and kicked off a new feline-themed tourist industry.
Lonely Planet says: ‘Today, more than 200 cats live in Houtong and a tourist industry has emerged with shops, cafes and restaurants catering to the many visitors who descend on this feline frontier every weekend.
‘Black, ginger, tortoise shell, calico, white and grey, fat and fatter, friendly and shy: there are cats of every wondrous kind in Houtong.
Houtong in northern Taiwan has earned itself the nickname ‘Cat Village’, due to its extensive population of stray cats
Houtong (pictured above) was once a coal-mining village but its human residents started to leave after the industry declined
‘They can be found lounging in flower pots, loafing on shelves, padding up steps, jumping off roofs and spread out, sleeping, over stalls of kitty-themed souvenirs.’
In 2013, the village renovated a pedestrian bridge to make it more cat-friendly with jumps and platforms for the adventurous felines. It’s now affectionately known as ‘Cat Bridge’.
Houtong ‘cat village’ has earned a 4.3 star rating on Google based on more than 12,000 Google reviews.
Visitor ‘Chani Dominguez’ describes the village as ‘heaven on earth for cat lovers’ while another reviewer ‘Paul Hermansen’ says: ‘Cat lovers will want to stay all day.’
User ‘Shawn G’ says they ‘absolutely adored’ Houtong, adding that ‘everyone takes great pride in taking care of the strays here so they’re all super friendly.’
However reviewer Emma Barron warns: ‘There’s not a lot to do here unless you really love cats.’
It takes just under an hour and a half on public transport to reach Houtong from Taipei and it has become a popular day trip destination for city residents.
Lonely Planet says: ‘Today, more than 200 cats live in Houtong and a tourist industry has emerged with shops, cafes and restaurants’ (pictured above)
The village has earned a 4.3 star rating on Google based on more than 12,000 Google reviews
A visitor says that ‘everyone takes great pride in taking care of the strays here so they’re all super friendly’ while Lonely Planet explains ‘there are cats of every wondrous kind in Houtong’
