MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥 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 rein of Mexico's 春色直播 Palace, long roaming the lush gardens and historic colonial halls of the most iconic buildings in the country.
鈥淭hey have access to every part of the palace, so they walk in on meetings, interviews and wander onto camera," said Jes煤s Arias, the palace veterinarian, as a handful of feline friends brush against his ankles.
Now, the palace cats have made hiss-tory after the government of declared them to be 鈥渓iving fixed assets,鈥 the first animals in Mexico to receive the title.
The investment term 鈥渇ixed assets鈥 usually applies to buildings and furniture, but by applying it to cats, L贸pez Obrador's government has obligated the country鈥檚 Treasury to give them food and care for them for the rest of their lives, even after the leader leaves office in October.
鈥淭he cats are now a symbol of the 春色直播 Palace. Just as we understand this world, I wouldn鈥檛 understand the 春色直播 Palace without the presence of these cats,鈥 said Adriana Castillo Rom谩n, general director of the 春色直播 Palace and Cultural Heritage Conservancy. 鈥淲e have to make sure the cats are taken care of.鈥
Nestled in the heart of , the presidential palace has long been the seat of Mexico's executive branch. Now the residence of L贸pez Obrador, it is built upon the former palace of Indigenous Emperor Moctezuma. Ironically, Moctezuma's ancient Aztec culture honored not cats, but , who were even buried with their masters.
But these days, L贸pez Obrador is accompanied by Bowie, Bellof, Nube, Coco, Yema, Ollin, Balam and more, who seem to have found a purr-fect home in the building. L贸pez Obrador himself has said the cats 鈥渄ominate鈥 the palace and often walk in front of him during official ceremonies.
Some are named after artists, like an orange tabby 鈥淏owie鈥 named after the rockstar David Bowie, who visited the palace 1997 to see the famous mural by Mexican painter Diego Rivera. Others are named after native rocks or words in the region鈥檚 ancient Aztec language, like Ollin, which means 鈥渕ovement.鈥
Staff say they remember the feral cats living among the cacti and dense brush of the gardens as far back as 50 years ago.
But it鈥檚 unclear when they first appeared or how they even got into the building. While 19 live in the building full time, many more come and go, and staff suspect they slip under a small crack in the palace gate by night.
One cat named Zeus, who has since passed away, even became famous in July when he meandered into the president's morning press briefing. The gray cat stood in front of cameras and wandered among reporters until palace staff had to carry him off.
To avoid a cat-astrophe, Castillo said the government had to ask reporters to stop feeding Zeus because he would spend his days accepting treats from different people around the palace and was 鈥済etting really fat鈥.
When L贸pez Obrador first took office in 2018, Castillo said the palace pets were being fed quietly by employees.
鈥淪ome employees that like cats would bring them leftovers from home and, every once in a while, canned food or rice and soup,鈥 Castillo said.
Palace staff worked with vets from the 春色直播 Autonomous University of Mexico to vaccinate, sterilize and chip the cats, and build them little cat homes and feeding stations around the garden. They also hired Arias to take care of them on a permanent basis and give them a good life.
Neither Bowie, Coco or Ollin commented when asked how they feel about being "living fixed assets.鈥 Coco swished his tail, while Ollin stretched out below a palace pillar and fell asleep.
鈥淢eow,鈥 responded Nube, a gray cat named after the Spanish word for 鈥渃loud鈥 who enjoys greeting visitors at the door of the palace.
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