Over 65 Cats Protect Works of Art at Hermitage Museum in Russia

One of the biggest museums in the world, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, uses over 65 cats to protect over 3 million pieces of artwork from rats and mice. Three people work full-time to take care of the cats including Irina Popovets who is quoted in a CBC News video as saying, “They’re not just mascots, they’re really employees of the Hermitage and they play a very important role”.

The television show Museum Secrets ran a segment on the cats and said that cats have been an important part of the museum since the 18th century.

via Nag on the Lake