Russian Museum Hires Cat as April Fools’ Joke, Then Actually Hires Cat

Serpukhov Historical and Art Museum recently hired a new employee – an employee they actually joked about hiring not too long ago for an April Fools’ joke.

The hiree in question? A cat named Maray.

The furry guy had called the museum home since 2014, but this year museum employees decided it would be a fun joke if they wrote an article about the cat applying for a job at the museum. Nina Strelkova, head of tourist information at the museum told Mashable that she sent the article to the media, but the media didn’t get the joke. They thought it was for real, and soon reported that Maray had been hired.

“After that, we received a flurry of calls to the museum from the federal TV channels asking him to come and make a report,” Strelkova explained to Mashable. “Thus, under public pressure, the joke became reality: Maray’s candidacy was approved, and now he’s the doorman.”

The cat embraced his new duties with extreme vigor.

“Maray comes to work at exactly 9 a.m., just like all the other employees. He sits near the entrance to the museum and meets visitors,” Strelkova said. “He meows and politely shows visitors to the entrance. He has lunch at 1 p.m., after which he walks around for an hour. His workday ends at 5 p.m.”

Maray now calls a carriage house on the museum’s property home where he collects his day’s pay of fish and chicken.

Strelkova said people visiting the museum always ask for selfies with Maray, and that, for now, he is her only feline subordinate.