The Army Building at 39 Whitehall Street in New York was a large building infested with rats and mice in the late 19th century. But there were talented recruits to fight against them, a squad of cats! The New York military cats got a write-up in 1898, at which time they were led by General Weyler, the oldest of the cats, and the troops included Queen Regent, General Blanco, and Alfonso, all named after figures in the news, as the US was involved in the Spanish-American War at the time.
The army took bids on the delivery of seven pounds of fresh beef every day for the cats. This daily pound of beef, divided between the cats, kept them healthy and loyal to their duties. If anyone objected to the expense, the cats only cost the government five cents a day, while the rats and mice would otherwise ruin hundreds of dollars in supplies every year. And New York wasn't the only supply depot to recruit cats for pest control purposes. Read about the feline soldiers of the New York Army Building at The Hatching Cat. -via Strange Company