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They roam the palace gardens chasing pigeons and make cameo appearances in television press conferences. Some people greet tourists at the entrance and secretly lick the staff's ice cream.
Nineteen stray cats roam free at Mexico's National Palace, roaming for long periods through the lush gardens and historic colonial halls of the country's most iconic building.
“They have access to every part of the palace, so they take part in meetings and interviews, and they walk around in front of the cameras,” says Jesús Arias, the palace's veterinarian, as several of his feline friends pet his ankles. Told.
The palace cat has become a hot topic after the government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared it a “living fixed asset,” making it the first animal in Mexico to earn that title.
The investment term “fixed assets” is usually applied to buildings and furniture, but López Obrador's administration has applied it to cats so that they can be fed and cared for for the rest of their lives even after the leader leaves office. The Ministry of Finance was required to do so. During October.
“Cats have now become a symbol of the Forbidden City. Just as we understand this world, we cannot understand the National Palace without the presence of these cats,” said National Palace and Culture. said Adriana Castillo Roman, general director of the heritage group. “We have to make sure the cats are taken care of.”
Located in the heart of Mexico City, the Presidential Palace has been the seat of Mexico's executive branch for many years. It is now the residence of López Obrador and is built on the former palace of indigenous emperor Moctezuma. Ironically, the ancient Aztec culture of Moctezuma did not honor cats, but hairless dogs known as Xoloitzcuintl, who were sometimes buried with their owners.
But these days, López Obrador has been accompanied by the likes of Bowie, Belov, Nube, Coco, Yema, Orlin and Balam, who seem to have found the perfect home in the building. López Obrador himself said the cat “rules” the palace and frequently walks in front of him during official ceremonies.
Some of the artists, like Bowie, an orange tabby named after rock star David Bowie, who visited the palace in 1997 to see Mexican painter Diego Rivera's famous mural. Some are named after. Others are named after native rocks or ancient Aztec words from the area, such as Orlin, which means “movement.”
Staff say they remember stray cats living in the garden's cacti and thick bushes 50 years ago.
However, it is unclear when they first appeared or how they got into the building. Nineteen people reside in the building, but many more have come and gone, and officials suspect they may have slipped into small cracks in the palace gates at night.
A cat named Zeus, who has since passed away, became famous in July when he meandered into the president's morning press conference. The gray cat stood in front of the camera and wandered among reporters until palace officials had to remove it.
Castillo said the government had to ask reporters to stop feeding Zeus to avoid cat astrophy. This is because Zeus “gained a lot of weight” from spending time around the palace receiving snacks from various people.
When López Obrador first took office in 2018, Castillo said the palace pets were quietly fed by employees.
“Some employees who like cats bring their cats leftovers from home and sometimes canned food, rice, and soup,” Castillo said.
Palace staff worked with veterinarians from the National Autonomous University of Mexico to vaccinate, neuter and chip the cat, and built a small cat house and feeding station around the garden. They also hired Arias to take care of them forever and give them a good life.
Neither Bowie nor Coco nor Olin would comment when asked how they felt about being a “living fixture.” Koko wagged his tail and Orin stretched out under the palace pillar and fell asleep.
“Meow,” answered Nube, a gray cat named after the Spanish word for “cloud.” Nube likes to welcome visitors at the entrance to the palace.
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