Yelisei the Cat St. Petersburg

In Russia , during the course of the siege in world war II, most of the city’s pets were killed for food, but the authorities soon found that the lack of cats was causing a public health menace.

Rats multiplied, leading to unsanitary conditions, an increase in disease, and shrinkage of food supplies. What to do? 5,000 cats were brought in from other cities, and they put things right in short order. Rats were brought down, ergo, they didn’t eat up precious food stores or leave droppings that caused human illness.

There’s a monument to Yelisei the cat… for good luck, the people of St. Piter say that you should toss a coin at his feet… try it, it just might work for you.