Over 1,000 of cats have been stranded on Phi Phi Island, in Thailand’s Krabi Province, left behind by their owners after COVID-19 killed the country’s tourism industry.
The cat’s owners, who were working people and entrepreneurs, left the islands at the start of the pandemic, thinking it would only be temporary. The situation, however, has never really improved.
Only some came back to retrieve their feline friends, after it was clear tourists were not returning to the resort islands any time soon, according to Suda Klinchuen, a volunteer.
The authorities have tried to control the cat population through mass sterilization, but to no avail.
As a result, every day a large number of cats are seen on the roads of the islands, waiting to be fed by cat loving volunteers. The feeding started in March last year, according to Suda.
“A lot of them were starving,” she said, adding that currently she is paying for the cat food.
The stranded cats are, however, remaining healthy, getting fed in the morning and evening by the volunteers. A Facebook page had been set up under the name translated as “The Stranded Cats of Phi Phi Islands” and open for donations.
The authority had surveyed the islands and confirmed the cat population was over 1,000.
