The Cats of the Hermitage St Petersburg, Russia

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It's well documented that St Petersburg's Hermitage in Russia is home to a huge collection of pieces, including some of the world's greatest artistic treasures; but less well known is that an army of cats has been guarding those treasures from rodent predators since 1745. In that year the Empress Elizaveta (Elizabeth) Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great and Empress of All Russia from 1741 until her death in 1761, signed a decree ordering that cats were to be found in the city of Kazan and brought to her court in Moscow — 'better cats, the largest ones, able to catch mice, and accompanied by a person who will look after their health'.

By the time of the reign of Catherine the Great (1762-96) there was a substantial number of Winter Palace cats. They survived the storming of the building by the Bolsheviks in 1917, but the siege of Leningrad (as it was then called) in 1941-44, during the Second World War, meant that their descendants succumbed to disease, starvation or the needs of the famished human population. After three 'catless' years, they were reintroduced as soon as possible after the war; museum legend has it that a special train travelled nationwide to recruit suitable felines for service.

Nowadays the cats live in the Hermitage rather than the Winter Palace; they number around 50 and are considered by the staff to be museum employees. Officially the director allows 50, but in practice cats come and go, so there may be up to 60. There is a turnover of 10 or 15 animals each year; city residents are encouraged to rehome some of them — in the spring of 2010 there was a 'Want to Go Home' campaign for that purpose — but they, and those who die, soon have their places taken by fresh stray or abandoned cats. New arrivals are vaccinated and most are neutered to prevent undue proliferation, keeping just enough breeding animals to maintain the population. Each cat has a 'passport' with its photograph. Those that leave to be rehomed receive a special Hermitage certificate, which gives them a certain distinction!

The feline colony receives no official income, but the human employees contribute each month towards upkeep and health expenses. Each year also there is 'Tomcat Day', regarded as the cats' holiday; it's a kind of open day where visitors can take part in cat-related games and competitions and can view artwork depicting cats, painted by children and students as well as by professional artists. Proceeds from the day go to the Museum Cat Fund.

None of the animals is allowed in the galleries; however, many of the green service doors in the six Hermitage buildings have small cat doors in them, so the residents can come and go as they please between the gardens — where in summer they are to found strolling or lounging among the priceless exhibits — and the basement, where there is the 'cat headquarters'. This is where food is prepared and their health is looked after, with a room devoted to looking after sick animals.

There aren't enough rodents now to provide all their food requirements, so they are fed fish, liver or meat and a special mixture of cereals and milk prepared by the kitchen. Food and water bowls are to be found in many places. A number of volunteers help to care for the cats, but there are also three women who have full-time jobs looking after them; they are devoted to the animals and know all their names. 'Cats are a part of our life,' says one. 'They amuse people and make a nice atmosphere for us.' The basement also provides the heated quarters where the cats spend much of their time in winter to avoid the bitter Russian weather outside.

There was an account (now archived) of the body of museum volunteers, including a small photo of some of them standing by a notice proclaiming 'Caution! Cats!' — and including a cat, of course! Reader Tom Nelson kindly sent us a photo of that sign (above left). The image top left of a volunteer holding a cat outside the Hermitage in winter is by Sergei Grachev of the St Petersburg Times.

A few shots taken inside the museum on an earlier visit by the author

Update 2017

Early in September 2017 a fire broke out in the basement of the museum and although it was small and quickly extinguished, it was feared that some cats might have been caught in it. In fact four of them suffered from smoke inhalation and were rushed to the vets. The worst affected was Dusya, and it's reported that in fact she later died, while the others recovered.

Links and further reading

• Russian Life, Oct 2006: Hermitage Cats: The Guards of the Russian Crown Jewelry (archived copy)
• BBC, Oct 2007: Hermitage palace is cat's whiskers
• ABC News, Jul 2010: St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum Home to Masters... and Cats - with video and also link to a slideshow
• Further videos of the cats: there was an excellent 2009 clip at the National Geographic site, but unfortunately it's no longer available for viewing, although the accompanying article entitled Cat "Army" Guards Treasures is still there. Maybe the film will see the light of day again sometime, but meanwhile there are many other clips at YouTube, the following being a small selection:
  • Cats Guard Museum (2009)
  • Cats fight rats at Russian museum (AlJazeera English, 2010)
  • The cats which work for the Hermitage Museum (RIA Novosti, 2011) - the clip also shows us the black feline mascot of the icebreaker Krasin, now a floating museum at St Petersburg; as a kitten in 2006 he was spotted stranded on an ice floe, rescued by the crew and has remained ever since
  • Hermitage Cats Today (Museum Secrets TV, 2012)
• Daily Telegraph, May 2013: St Petersburg: the cats of the Hermitage
• TASS, Sep 2017: Four Hermitage cats taken to veterinary clinic after fire in museum�s basement
• i News, Sep 2017: St Petersburg�s museum cats escape fire by a whisker
• The Art Newspaper blog, Sep 2017: Firefighters save the Hermitage�s beloved feline guards - see the update paragraph at the head of the piece
• Wikipedia: Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace
• St Petersburg: State Hermitage
• St Petersburg Virtual Tour