The Russian Hermitage boasts about sheltering over 50 cats and pampering them with food, a dedicated washing machine, and great healthcare. The cats even have a page on Wikipedia like influencers.
The little animals are used to the museum's visitors who treat them with love. Among those visitors was a French man who left a generous sum of money in his will "for the cats living in the basement of the State Hermitage Museum in Russia." The museum is home to three million works of art, artifacts, and sculptures spread across buildings including the Winter Palace. According to the Hermitage's staff, these cats know the displayed works more than experts.
The site has been home to cats since the time of Empress Elizabeth, who reigned from 1741 to 1761, according to the museum.
Catherine the Great, the founder of the Hermitage, gave the cats the status of guardians of the art galleries, Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported, noting that the cats were housed to keep rodents from the premises.
Now, they are taken care of by volunteers and museum staff and supported by donations, according to the museum, which notes that the animals have their own washing machine and the services of a local veterinarian.
The museum's general director, Mikhail Piotrowski, told a press conference earlier this month that the unnamed French philanthropist was so much taken with the animals that he left a small amount for them in his will.
"Our French friend did a very good thing; this is brilliant PR for both the cats and charity. The sum is not very big but it's very important when the person writes a will, when the French lawyers contact us. It's not a simple process but this is all very interesting, isn't it? Such a nice gesture that came from France. The funds will likely be used to repair the museum's basements, where the cats live," he said
"I think the cats will express their will -- our colleagues are well-versed in communicating with them and understanding their language," he added.
The unnamed benefactor certainly wasn't the only person to have fallen for the cats' charms -- according to Piotrovsky, the former president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Fortov, was a "constant friend" of the Hermitage cats.
Fortov, who died last month, would sometimes stop by the museum to leave money for the animals, Piotrovsky said.
While some cats are still allowed to live at The Hermitage, others lost their right to stay at the London-based British Museum.
Last January, on its 260th anniversary, the British museum stated that there were four to seven cats allowed to live in it to keep the place clean of rodents over 20 years, from the 1970s to the 1990s. The statement also said a committee was established to take care of the cats living in the museum and their offspring.
