Europe 1 with AFP 17:09 p.m., September 30, 2023

A feline patrol has been formed in the Philippines to keep company with lonely and work-stressed security guards. In the capital of Manila, where thousands of stray cats live, some are lucky enough to be adopted unofficially by these agents, who have even offered them work clothes adapted to their small feline bodies.

A cat wearing a black and yellow security vest walks nonchalantly past security guards lined up outside a Philippine office building, waiting for instructions for his service. Conan, a six-month-old stray cat, joined the security team at the Worldwide Corporate Center in the Philippine capital Manila several months ago. He is one of the lucky felines unofficially adopted by security guards in the city, where thousands of cats live on the streets.

Although cats lack the safety skills of dogs and tend to sleep at work, security guards – who work 12 hours a day and are somewhat bored during their shift – appreciate their kindness and companionship. Conan was saved at the age of a few weeks by a housekeeper who found him moaning in the parking lot of the building. He inherited the role of security cat somewhat by chance, after the death of his predecessor, Mingming.

>> READ ALSO - Too many SMS scams in the Philippines: even a monkey can have a mobile number

"It gets rid of my stress"

The bereaved guards, who wanted another furry friend to animate their shifts, decided to appoint him to this position. "If Conan isn't here, I'm not motivated," Aljon Aquino, 30, told AFP. "It gets rid of my stress." Photos of Conan have been shared thousands of times on Facebook. He is seen wearing a vest marked "security" and lying on a desk next to a life-size image of Mingming. He is one of a dozen cats who live in the Worldwide Corporate Center, an office and retail building, where they are allowed to roam. Employees contribute to buy them food.

Leading the good life, however, Conan shows little enthusiasm for helping his human colleagues with their tasks, such as searching the bags of customers and employees at the entrance of the building. He much prefers lounging in front of the nearby café or running behind balls on the tiled floor, much to the delight of passers-by. "Sometimes people hug him, because he's very nice," says Aquino, who likes to tap him with his stick.