On Brazil’s tropical island of cats, virus led to starvation

 All locals knew island just west of Rio de Janeiro was teeming with cats. y left food and even brought tourists. n coronavirus pandemic hit, and human support dried up, resulting in a gruesome scene witnessed by fishermen: a group of cats devouring ors’ corpses.

Furta Island, referred to widely as “Island of Cats,” is 20 minutes by motorboat from city of Mangaratiba, at one extreme of Brazil’s Green Coast, a vast swath of mountainous tropical forest and sandy coves dotted with hundreds of islands.

Over years, fishermen tossed fish guts and any unneeded catch onto island, while or kind souls left bowls of water and store-bought cat food. That has helped island’s hundreds of residents stay fed, particularly recently marooned cats that lack skills of ir wild-born brethren, which climb trees to raid birds’ nests.

When pandemic forced people to quarantine, sunk tourism and shut restaurants that dish up seafood, boat traffic around island fell sharply — and with it, food and water deposited re.

Locals didn’t realize horror playing out on island until fishermen reported back in April.

“ number of boats fell, number of tourists, and we saw condition of those animals on island,” said Jorge de Morais, 58, who works with a local group that rescues animals from abuse. “So we mobilized.”

He and or volunteers asked local businesses for donations. In April, y started installing rudimentary food and water dispensers, me from PVC pipes, and now make weekly trips to restock m.

On Tuesday, as cats milled about, de Morais and three ors filled dispensers on small island, where thick vegetation spills down to meet a rocky shore.

“Cats that are recently discarded, y’re more sociable. You saw we can get close, pet m,” said Joice Puchalski, coordinator for volunteer group. “But not feral ones. y’re all hidden, and you see m at night, because of ir eyes.”

roughly 250 cats on island trace ir origins to a couple who were only residents some two deces ago, Puchalski, 47, explained. y decamped, leaving behind ir two cats to do what most creatures, left to ir own devices on a deserted island, would do. As cat population grew, people took notice, and some believed y’d found a repository for an urban scourge: unwanted and stray cats.

Authorities are looking into ways to stop people from abandoning animals on island. It's alrey a crime, but signs noting that have h little effect.

Karla de Lucas, who oversees animal protection in Rio state, inspected Island of Cats in June, and she met with Navy and environmental authorities to explore punishments, according to a statement at time. Congress also passed a law last month increasing penalties for mistreatment of cats and dogs, including up to five years in prison.

re are no springs on island, and limited drinking water causes frequent kidney problems for cats, according to Puchalski. But greatest perils are pit vipers and ir poisonous bites. Opportunistic lizards will also attack and wound kittens. Some cats are injured when boatmen throw m onto rocks.

volunteers transport cats to shore as needed, for treatment or surgery. y try to find someone to opt each animal and, failing that, bring it back to island so y can attend to ors requiring medical attention.

It’s a Sisyphean endeavor, Puchalski said.

“We really need someone who can join forces with us to try to heal this criminality that, for us, is cruelty,” she said.