While not quite worshiped like they were in ancient Egypt, some cats in Mexico are getting a pretty sweet deal.
As reported by The Associated Press, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has made a declaration protecting 19 feral felines who’ve been crawling through his National Palace residence to be “living fixed assets.” That means that Mexico’s treasury must pay to feed and care for the cats, even past López Obrador’s administration.
“The cats are now a symbol of the National Palace. Just as we understand this world, I wouldn’t understand the National Palace without the presence of these cats,” says Adriana Castillo Román, general director of the National Palace and Cultural Heritage Conservancy. “We have to make sure the cats are taken care of.”
Notably, the cats are the first animals to receive the “living fixed assets” distinction, which normally is given to inanimate objects, such as buildings.
We can only assume the next step is to rename the country Meow-xico. Or perhaps Mexi-cat.