Covid 19 coronavirus: on the island of cats in Brazil, the virus caused hunger and cannibalism

All the locals knew that the island west of Rio de Janeiro was full of cats. The locals left food for them and even brought tourists. Then the coronavirus pandemic struck and human support dried up, resulting in a gruesome scene witnessed by fishermen: a group of cats devouring the corpses of others.

Furtado Island, widely known as “Isla de los Catos”, is a 20-minute speedboat ride from the city of Mangaratiba, at one end of Brazil’s Costa Verde, a vast swath of mountainous tropical forest and sandy coves dotted with hundreds of islands.

Over the years, fishermen dumped fish guts and unnecessary catch onto the island, while other kind souls left bowls of water and store-bought cat food. That has helped the island’s hundreds of residents stay fed, particularly recently abandoned cats who lack the skills of their wild-born siblings, who climb trees to raid bird nests.

When the pandemic forced people to self-quarantine, sank tourism, and closed restaurants serving seafood, ship traffic on the island was drastically reduced, and with it food and water deposited there.

Locals didn’t realize the horror unfolding on the island until the fishermen reported in April.

“The number of boats dropped, the number of tourists dropped and we saw the state of these animals on the island,” said Jorge de Morais, 58, who works with a local group that rescues animals from abuse. “So we mobilized.”

He and other volunteers asked local businesses for donations. In April, they began installing rudimentary food and water dispensers, made from PVC pipes, and now go on weekly trips to restock them.

On Tuesday, as the cats swirled, de Morais and three others filled dispensers on the small island, where thick vegetation spills over to meet a rocky shore.

“The cats that have been discarded recently are more sociable. You saw that we can get closer, pet them,” said Joice Puchalski, coordinator of the volunteer group. “But not the savages. They are all hidden, and you see them at night, by their eyes.”

The roughly 250 cats on the island have their origins in a couple who were the only residents about two decades ago, explained Puchalski, 47. They left, leaving behind two cats to do what most creatures would do, left to fend for themselves on a desert island. As the cat population grew, people took notice and some believed that they had found a reservoir for an urban scourge: stray and unwanted cats.

Authorities are looking for ways to prevent people from abandoning animals on the island. It is already a crime, but the signals that indicate that they have had little effect.

Karla de Lucas, who oversees animal protection in Rio state, inspected Isla de los Gatos in June and met with the Navy and environmental authorities to explore the penalties, according to a statement at the time. Congress also passed a law last month that increases penalties for mistreatment of cats and dogs, which include up to five years in prison.

There are no springs on the island and the shortage of clean water causes frequent kidney problems in cats, according to Puchalski. But the greatest dangers are pit vipers and their poisonous bites. Opportunistic lizards will also attack and injure kittens. Some cats are injured when boatmen throw them onto the rocks.

Volunteers transport cats to shore as needed, for treatment or surgery. They try to find someone to adopt each animal and, failing that, bring it back to the island to care for others who require medical attention.

It’s a Sisyphus effort, Puchalski said.

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