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Tama

Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland

Tama (たま?, born April 29, 1999) is a calico cat who is the station master and operating officer at Kishi Station in Kinokawa, Wakayama, Japan.

In April 2006, the Wakayama Electric Railway converted all stations on the Kishigawa Line from manned to unmanned in an effort to cut costs. Station masters were selected from employees of local businesses near each station. For Kishi station, Toshiko Koyama, the neighborhood grocer, was selected as station master. Koyama had adopted Tama and other stray cats, and she fed them at the station.
In January 2007, railway officials decided to officially name Tama the station master. As station master her primary duty is to greet passengers. The position comes with a stationmaster's hat; in lieu of a salary, the railway provides Tama with free cat food.

Inside Kishi Station in Kinokawa
The publicity from Tama's appointment led to an increase in passengers by 17% for that month as compared to January 2006; ridership statistics for March 2007 showed a 10% increase over the previous financial year. A study has estimated that the publicity surrounding Tama has contributed 1.1 billion Yen to the local economy. In January 2008, Tama was promoted to "super station master" in a ceremony attended by the president of the company and the mayor; as a result of her promotion, she is "the only female in a managerial position" in the company. Her new position has an "office"—a converted ticket booth containing a litter box. In January 2010, railway officials promoted Tama to the post of "Operating Officer" in recognition of her contribution to expanding the customer base. Tama will maintain the stationmaster's job while taking over the new job, and is the first cat to become an executive of a railroad corporation.
Her staff consisted of two feline assistant stationmasters, Chibi (ちび?, born May 12, 2000) and an orange tabby cat named Miiko (ミーコ?, October 3, 1998 - July 20, 2009). Now only Chibi remains. Tama appeared in a documentary about cats titled La Voie du chat in French and Katzenlektionen in German by Italian filmmaker Myriam Tonelotto, broadcast on European TV channel ARTE in April 2009. Kishigawa Line announced that it was releasing a new "Tama Densha" (たま電車 Tama railcar/train?) train that was customized with cartoon depictions of Tama. It began running in spring 2009.

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