A grateful community in Japan paid its respects to Tama, who lived at a struggling railway station.
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Tama, the cute calico cat, is hailed as a hero who saved Kishi Station from financial ruin by bringing in visitors and acting as both station master and mascot. In her custom-made cap and a jacket, she quietly sat at the ticket gate to welcome and see off passengers.
The railway company said it is considering erecting a statue of its beloved stationmaster cat.
The 16-year-old cat died of heart failure on 22 June. During yesterday’s Shinto-style funeral – held at the station where she served – Tama became a goddess.
She will be enshrined at a nearby shrine for cats in August, according to Mitsunobu Kojima, president of the Wakayama Electric Railway.
“I ended up not being able to see her, but I am sure that Tama is still working as the stationmaster in heaven”, Masslau said. The Shinto religion has a variety of gods, including animals.
Kojima said Tama had initially been appointed the world’s only feline stationmaster as a way of keeping her on after the departure of the last member of two-legged staff in 2006.
In fiscal 2014, the Kishigawa Line drew 2.27 million riders, a record since Wakayama Electric Railway took over its operations, thanks to the popularity of its furry stationmaster.
The rest was a miracle, and his company’s success story also gave hope for dozens of other struggling very small local train lines, he said. He called Tama “a savior, a goddess” and added that “it was truly my honor to work with her”.
He said he had visited the cat in hospital the day before she died, and she had reached out for a hug.
He said he told Tama to get well so they could celebrate the cat’s upcoming tenth anniversary as a stationmaster, and said she responded with a “meow”.
Another cat has become an apprentice stationmaster following Tama’s death from heart failure on June 22.
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