Photo: Kelly | Unsplash
They prowl through palace gardens stalking pigeons and make cameos on televised press briefings. Some greet tourists at the doors, while others take a sneaky lick of ice cream from staff. Nineteen feral cats have free reign of Mexico’s National Palace, long roaming the lush gardens and historic colonial halls of the most iconic buildings in the country. “They have access to every part of the palace, so they walk in on meetings, interviews, and wander onto camera,” said Jesus Arias, the palace veterinarian. Now the palace cats have made hiss-tory after the government of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declared them to be “living fixed assets,” the first animals in Mexico to receive this title. This declaration obligates the country’s Treasury to give them food and care for the rest of their lives, even after the leader leaves office in October.
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