About 3000 people attended a funeral for a cat at a railway station in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, where the cat had been ‘stationmaster’ for the past eight years.
Tama, who wore a custom-made hat, has been credited with helping to save the local railway company, as her presence at the unmanned station drew visitors from across the country. The president of the railway said that Tama contributed an estimated $US 8.9 million to the local economy. Tama died from heart failure, aged 16, and has been given the title of ‘honourable eternal stationmaster’. Another cat, called Nitama, is in place as apprentice stationmaster. Read more: theguardian.com