Over 65 Cats Guard Artwork at Russian Museum
The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia contains over 3 million pieces of artwork. As you can imagine, security is taken quite seriously and the museum takes great measures to keep its treasures safe. In fact, over 65 cats live in the museum basement and help protect the precious art by catching pesky mice and rats.
According to a CBC news video most of the cats are rescued from the streets and the museum employs three people who work almost full-time feeding and pampering the cats.
A segment about the cats from the television show Museum Secrets said cats have been an important part of the museum since the 18th century.
"They're not just mascots, they're really employees of the Hermitage and they play a very important role," says Irina Popovets, who spends six hours a day caring for the felines.
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