Two years ago, 17, a little cat joined the officials at the police station in Albi, near Toulouse. He recently has an Instagram account where the police show his daily life. It is now followed by just over 1,200 people.
It is not uncommon to find him curled up on one of the printers at the Albi police station or sitting on the corner of a desk. This tabby cat is 17, a tiny female who was taken in by city officials just under two years ago.
When she’s not sleeping, she plays and goes to greet her colleagues with a majestic gait.
It was members of the night brigade who met her on a cold winter night, she was sleeping on the hood of one of the vehicles. “At first she fled as soon as she saw us coming. And gradually, after we started feeding her, she started settling down at the police station“, says a police officer from Albi.
A short visit to the vet was necessary to check that she was in good health and that she had no other owners. Today it is a real mascot for the entire office. “She gives us peace of mind, she sometimes relaxes us when there are moments that are emotionally hard. In fact, she participates in the life of the group in her own way.“, he sums up.
Everyone feeds her and enjoys cuddling her. It also sometimes happens that during her wanderings she meets people who have come to complain.
“When victims of domestic violence come and there are 17, it calms them down and gives them more confidence to speak up”
A police officer from Albi
17 also has its little success with children. It makes it possible to create a diversion in complicated moments. The official explains:We can take the children out and introduce them to our cat when, for example, one of the two parents files a complaint for violence, and that is difficult”.
Since September, the mascot has an instagram account with his picture. 42 photos of the cat in all positions, in black and white and in color are included.
The account now has more than 1,200 subscribers who follow the cat’s adventures daily. “We started from scratch with this account, it was a bit of a joke. We can’t come back from this craze“, confirms the official.
At the local level, 17 is a star. She receives many gifts, pills and toys. She has also recently become an ambassador for a Toulouse brand of cat accessories.
On the Instagram page of 17, officials are also raising awareness of ways to report animal cruelty. “We also take the opportunity to call back important numbers, to contact us, but also for domestic violence. If it can help two or three people, that’s great.”says the policeman.
The managers of the site receive many messages, “only positive. For example, we are asked how to become a policeman, encouragement, words for 17″he enumerates.
“17 also gives us the opportunity to show the population that we are people like everyone else. To convey the positive in relation to our profession and establish a different communication with the population“, concludes the policeman.
Today, many other police stations in France have their own mascot: dogs or cats.
