Tourists flock to tickle cats

 A rundown former coal mining town in Taiwan is carving out a new future as a tourist resort - because of its huge stray cat population.

Cat lovers are reportedly flocking to Houtong to photograph the cats, tickle them with feather-tipped sticks and buy cat-related souvenirs.

The number of stray cats in the town is said to outweigh the human population by a ratio of two-to-one, reports Metro.

Houtong had undergone a seemingly irreversible economic decline as coal became less important to Taiwan's economy.

But the tiny, 200-strong community is reinventing itself as a cat lover's paradise.

"It was more fun than I imagined," said one visitor from Taipei. "The cats were clean and totally unafraid of people. I'll definitely return."

A major reason for the town's unexpectedly high number of cats is 58-year-old retiree Chan Bi-yun, who inherited a number of cats which rapidly started producing more cats.

"I started raising five cats that belonged to a neighbour who passed away nine years ago and they gave birth to more and more kitties," she said.

Chan, who now also owns a cat-souvenir stall, said most of her cats wander freely. Volunteers provide free veterinary care and cat food.