Russia's Hermitage cats as famous as museum's collections

Saint Petersburg

FOR more than a century visitors have marvelled at the Hermitage Museum's precious collections, and for just as long dozens of cats have prowled the Saint Petersburg palace's sprawling cellars.

The felines has one main task - to root out unwanted guests: rodents. The 70-odd brigade have their claws so deep into the history of Russia's largest museum - and one of the world's oldest - that there is even a special feline unit dedicated to their welfare. "Our cats are as well-known as our collections," beamed Irina Popovets, who runs the unit.