REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BRUSSELS -- The historical Belgian town of Ypres has witnessed the 44th edition of the procession of cats through its streets on Sunday, attracting more than 50,000 cat lovers from all over the world, according to a reporter of Xinhua on the spot.

During the festival day, the Ypres city seems to be an ocean of cats. Advertisings about the cats festival are seen everywhere in the streets of the town, the locals dress like cats, the shops sell a variety of cat toys and memorabilia, and of course the most striking thing is the grand "cat procession".

The procession, held every three years on the second Sunday in May, is part of a two-day event celebrating the town's tradition of cloth making.

Ypres prospered in the Middle Ages owing to the cloth industry, however wool sheets, stored in the town's Cloth Hall attracted the attention of mice. Cats were brought-in to eradicate the problem, but the town was soon overwhelmed by cats.

This led to the townspeople throwing cats out of the tower of the Cloth hall to get rid of the cats, in a tradition dating to the beginning of the 15th century. Cat-throwing then became linked to the prosperity of the town itself.

The act of throwing live cats was abandoned in 1817, to be replaced by toys or models. The tradition survives in the current cat procession festival.

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