Cat's Paradise : Houdong#1 貓咪的世外桃源：貓村猴硐（一） ⋆ 貓女Teresa

各位朋友大家好，我曾經寫過幾篇文跟大家介紹過貓村猴硐的貓咪們，可是還沒有正式介紹過猴硐這個地方，所以今天就來跟大家介紹這個台灣的貓咪天堂。

猴硐位於瑞芳地區，最方便的交通方式就是搭乘火車。從猴硐車站出來，映入眼簾的是翠綠的層層山巒，被青山綠水環抱的猴硐，有著得天獨厚的美景，沒落的礦村彷彿與世隔絕獨立於大自然中，隨著自己的步調過著自給自足的悠閒日子。後來因為日漸增多的貓咪引起了愛貓人士的注意，熱心的志工輔導居民認養及照顧貓咪，打造貓咪的友善居住空間。並且透過網路的傳播及各方人士的共同協助，猴硐慢慢打開知名度，成為瑞芳地區的重要觀光景點。

如今的猴硐，被美國有線電視新聞網CNN評選為全球六大賞貓景點之一，小山村已充分觀光化，不只愛貓人士無法抗拒貓村居民的強大吸引力頻頻造訪，越來越多的遊客一團一團往這裡帶，現在連非假日都不乏遊客拿著相機猛拍照，貓咪們面對不斷的人潮也被訓練得很淡定，在眾目睽睽下照常吃飯拉屎抓癢睡覺~~，過著真人實境秀一般的生活~~。

Hi everybody, I have written a couple of articles to introduce the cats of Houtong, but I have not formally introduced the cat village yet, so today I will introduce this kitten paradise in Taiwan to you.

The Houtong is located in Ruifang city. The most convenient way of transportation is by train. Coming out of Houtong Station, you will be surrounded by green mountains and rivers. Houtong has a unique beauty, which is the declining mining village seems to be isolated in nature, with their self-sufficiency to live a leisurely life. The growing number of cats attract the attention of cat lovers, enthusiastic volunteers tutored residents to adopt and take care of cats to create a friendly living space for cats. And through the spread of the Internet and the mutual assistance of all parties, Houtong slowly opens its popularity and becomes an important tourist attraction in the Ruifang area.

Today’s Houtong has been selected by CNN as one of the six most cat-watching spots in the world. The village has been fully sightseeing. Not only cat lovers can’t resist the strong attraction of the residents of the village. More and more tourist groups visit here. Now, even on holidays, tourists are taking pictures with cameras everywhere. Cats are also trained to be calm in the face of the constant crowd, eating and scratching and sleeping under observation~~, just like the Truman Show~~.

在猴硐車站就被各式各樣的貓咪圖案和貓咪商品萌到少女心大噴發，來看貓之餘，很多遊客都抵不住可愛貓咪商品的誘惑，這些販賣紀念品的店面永遠擠滿了人潮。

At the Houtong Station, many tourists are unable to resist the temptation of cute kitty goods, and the shops selling souvenirs are always full of people.

這些貓咪圖案中，最為人知的就是插畫家貓小P的插畫，廁所前那面牆上的貓咪們，就是貓小P根據猴硐的貓居民們所創造出的造型，包含最有人氣的四大天王及其他令人疼愛的貓咪們。而車站中最吸睛的毫無疑問就是四大天王中的「黑鼻」雕像。黑鼻臉上充滿喜感的花色，讓看過他的人立刻對他印象深刻，他也因此成了貓村中最殺觀光客底片的人氣王。因此雖然他已經離開，貓村人仍然在車站立了黑鼻的雕像，封他為永遠的列車長。

我之前寫過的猴硐文章中，就介紹過這位魅力十足的天王級喵喵，有興趣的朋友可以看這裡。

The most famous of these cat designs is the illustration of the illustrator Kitten P. The cats on the wall in front of the toilet are created by Kitten P according to the appearance of the cats here, including the most popular cats “Four Big Kings” and other beloved cats.

The most eye-catching part of the station is undoubtedly the “black nose” statue who is one of the four big kings. He was instantly impressed by people with his lovely black nose, making him the most popular cat in the cat village. So although he had left, his statue stands at the station, thinking of him as the eternal conductor.

In the Houtong articles I wrote before, I introduced this fascinating king-level cat “black nose”, you can see the post here.

這張猴硐國小的畫作，陳列在猴硐車站，貓咪造型的可愛程度一點也不輸插畫家呢！

This painting by the children of Houtong Elementary School is displayed at the Houtong Station. The cuteness of the cat’s shape is not worse than the illustrators at all!

大家可以在站長室外面的資訊欄，找到貓居民們的名字，只不過，我還是無法將這些孩子們的長相和名字連在一起。

車站放了很多貓咪的窩和貓跳台，可惜都積了厚厚的灰塵，成了佔地方的擺飾，顯然清潔管理方面需要加強。

You can find the names of the cat residents in the information section. However, I still can’t connect the kitties’ looks and names together.

At the station, a lot of cat nests and cat jumping platforms were put in place, but unfortunately, they all accumulated thick dust and became the decoration of the place. Obviously, they should pay more attention to cleaning and management.

跨越鐵道上的貓橋，可以通向山坡上的貓村，2013年重新修建，設計成貓咪的造型，並在裡面打造成適合貓咪休憩的空間，成為全球唯一的「人貓共用天橋」，得到工程金質獎。

Crossing the cat bridge on the railway, you can walk to the cat village on the hillside. The cat bridge was rebuilt in 2013, it was designed into a cat shape, and it created a space suitable for cats to rest, becoming the only “human cat sharing bridge” in the world. It’s also rewarded the Engineering Golden Award.

從踏上貓橋的入口，就可以不斷看到可愛的貓咪圖案，除了令人看了心情愉悅之外，也藉此向遊客傳達了更多正確的訊息。

From the entrance to the cat bridge, you can see the cute cat illustrations everywhere, which not only make people feel happy but also convey more correct information to tourists.

雖然有些店家會賣貓飼料及逗貓棒，但是因為這些貓咪都有居民固定餵養，而且很多地方都有看到提供貓咪們進食的飼料碗，所以建議大家還是不要隨便餵食，以免反而造成貓咪身體不適或疾病傳染。

Although some stores sell cat food and tease sticks, since these cats are regularly fed by residents and you can see feed bowls for cats in many places, tourists are advised not to feed them casually in order to avoid causing cat physical discomfort or disease transmission.

貓橋果然是人貓共用，瞧瞧這隻貓的貴妃躺，優雅放鬆，完全不介意旁邊圍了一群人對著他猛拍照。可愛的小妹妹在爸爸的帶領下，一點也沒有打擾貓咪，只是開心的看著她今天交的新朋友。

The bridge is really shared by people and cats. Look at the cat lying gracefully relaxed, doesn’t mind a crowd of people around him taking the pictures. The lovely little girl, led by her father, does not disturb the cat at all, but happily looks at the new friend she makes today.

雖然偶爾還是會看到有點生病的貓咪，但是跟我之前來的時候比起來，這次看到的貓咪大部份看起來都很健康，看到人也都不怕生，我想現在的觀光客也被訓練得越來越有素質了。

這隻虎斑貓花紋很漂亮，表情也很帥氣呀！

Although I still see a little sick cat occasionally, compared to the time I came before, most of the cats I see this time looks healthy and don’t afraid of people. I think the tourists are also trained to be more and more qualified as cat lovers.

This tabby cat is beautiful and has a very handsome expression.

毛色發亮的黑色貓咪，晶亮亮的眼睛，很漂亮呀！黑貓貓一點兒也不怕生，瞧瞧我一搔他的下巴，他就舒服的把眼睛閉上享受，好可愛！

This black cat has a shining coat, bright eyes, very beautiful! The black cat is not afraid of me at all. Look at me scratching his chin, he comfortably closes his eyes and enjoys it, so cute!

這隻貓雖然體型看起來比較小，可是看起來很乾淨，毛色也很柔順，應該也是很健康的喵喵。

Although the cat looks small, it looks clean and the coat is very smooth. It should also be very healthy.

這隻貓睡得好熟啊！不管遊客們在旁邊興奮地拍照說話，他都深深的沈浸在美夢中，看來對周遭很放心哪！

貓咪前面的飼料，顯然是遊客放的飼料。貓村的居民立了告示請大家不要餵貓咪及用逗貓棒逗弄貓咪，但車站前的商家卻繼續販賣貓飼料及逗貓棒，顯然猴硐的居民們之間仍有未解的矛盾。

This cat sleeps so well! Regardless of the tourists taking pictures and talking excitedly next to him, he was deeply immersed in his dream and seemed to feel relieved about the surroundings.

The feed-in front of the cat was obviously from tourists. The residents of the cat village made a sign to ask everyone not to feed the cat and tease the cat with a cat teaser, but the merchants in front of the station continued to sell cat feed and cat teaser. It was clear that there are still unsolved contradictions among the residents of the cave.

這次再度造訪猴硐，明顯感覺到貓咪被照顧得更好了！以前會看到很多貓咪仍然對人類保持著高度警戒，可是這次看到很多貓咪可以在遊客面前安心的熟睡。雖然猴硐的發展過程充滿了很多爭議性，現在也未必完美，但是從貓咪最真實的表現可以看出來，這裏已經越來越接近適合他們居住的環境了，心裡覺得很安慰，也為台灣保護動物的觀念有明顯進步感到驕傲。

今天就先跟大家介紹到此，下一篇文章繼續跟大家介紹變身成充滿文藝氣息的貓村。還有更多漂亮貓咪的照片，喜歡貓咪的朋友千萬別錯過喔！

Visit Houtong again this time, I obviously feel the cats are taken care of better! Many cats used to remain highly alert to humans, but this time they can sleep comfortably in front of tourists. Although the development process of the Houtong is full of controversy and may not be perfect now, we can see from the cat’s truest performance that this place is getting closer and closer to the environment suitable for them to live in. I feel very comforted and proud of Taiwan’s apparent progress in the concept of animal protection.

That’s all I will introduce this to you today. The next article will continue to introduce you to the cat village that transforms into the full of literary atmosphere. There are more photos of beautiful cats, don’t miss it!