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Since 2009, a small army of _________ in the Palace Museum have been receiving global social media attention. These hairy guards are _________ inside the museum walls. The purpose is to defend wooden structures and _________ relics against mice.

I visited the Palace Museum in the summer of 2023 to _________ the history of Qing Dynasty. I stayed in a small hotel in one of Beijin’s hutong areas for a whole month. It took me a 20-minute walk to the _________ every morning. Before _________ to Beijing, I had already conducted some background research on the history of the Palace Museum itself and managed to read an article about the famous palace cats. I was _________ to spot at least one of them during my stay there.

In the third week, _________ I was walking through the western gates, I was surprised to spot not one, not two, but three cats on the corner of a porch in front of an office. I _________ the furry guards in Chinese, “Hi! Kitties!” The cats ignored me, __________ to take a rest in the shade next to their white painted cat houses.

I __________ three more cats inside the bamboo garden of the employees’ exercise grounds. It wasn’t until my last week in Beijing that I __________ got to pet one. The slightly fat furry cat looked like the real “boss” of the palace as he made his way over to me, staring with his sharp yellow and blue eyes and letting __________ short, loud meows demanding attention. He was very friendly and __________ to be scratched behind the ear and even given a belly rub.

For those cat __________ planning on taking a trip to China’s capital, these absolutely adorable security guards are definitely worth spending a day in the palace looking for.