THE HAPPIEST CATS ON EARTH
Disneyland, the so-called happiest place on earth, is a reputed ghost haunt, a favorite spot for scattering family ashes, and home to creepy animatronic dead presidents. And it has found yet another way to freak out guests.
According to the company’s own lore, “deep in the backwoods of Disneyland Park [is] a land filled with woodland creatures.” It’s called Critter Country, “a restful world filled with shady trees, babbling brooks and all kinds of playful animals.”
But one kind of animal in particular has been drawing attention lately—Disney’s collection of feral cats.
On the Cats of Disneyland Instagram account, self-identified park employees and visitors describe a hidden world of cat colonies. These wild examples of Felis catus stalk around the park and sometimes allow guests to pet them behind the ears. A white-chested feral cat named Ned, for instance, occasionally can be seen welcoming guests at the Disneyland Hotel. A longhaired tortoiseshell cat that Instagram fans have named Francisco is known to hang out in the shade near Grizzly River Run. “We found Francisco at California Adventure today. He was just hanging out watching us silly hoomans [sic] riding water ride,” reads one of numerous posts from fans of this grouchy-faced, bushy-maned feline.
Park visitors take turns snapping photographs of the cats, which have become a draw in their own right.
“Excited to visit Disney again. this time for the kitties,” one Instagram poster writes.
“Next trip to Disneyland we gotta do some cat spotting!” says another.
The cats may be a source of joy for the more than 67,000 people who follow them on Instagram. But they’re also a public health threat, according to local officials whose job it is to prevent plagues. They say Disneyland has defied their demands that the park expel the swarm of feral cats, as such animals can spread flea-borne typhus, a disease that in rare cases can cause humans’
