A Moscow library has ousted its resident cat after a patron wrote a letter of denunciation against him, media reported Monday.
Markiz, a black-and-white cat with long hair, had been living at the library in northwestern Moscow’s Strogino district for eight years.
He was sent to live in a foster home after pensioner Igor Pochkin, a longtime library visitor, wrote a letter to the library’s management complaining that the cat’s presence created a “dangerous epidemiological environment.”
Pochkin “has been coming [to the library] with his laptop every day for eight years,” the Ostorozhno Moskva Telegram channel cited library employees as saying.
“[He is] very confrontational towards everyone, even kids are afraid of him. [He is] constantly arguing,” they added, noting that Pochkin has filed complaints against the library’s employees in the past.
Librarians who took care of Markiz said they were forced to part with the cat despite the animal having all necessary medical documents and being up-to-date on his vaccinations.
The head of the State Duma’s Environmental Committee Vladimir Burmatov also spoke out in Markiz’s defense, noting that “there are no rules against keeping cats in libraries.”
“There are examples when they even live in public dining establishments and [consumer watchdog] Rospotrebnadzor does not find any irregularities,” the news.ru news website quoted Burmatov as saying.
More than 150 library visitors have already signed a petition calling for the animal’s return, according to Ostorozhno Moskva.
Earlier this month, Russian social media was plunged into an uproar after a pet cat named Twix was thrown from a train and died in freezing conditions.
The head of Russia’s Investigative Committee subsequently ordered an investigation into the incident.
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