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ONOMICHI, Japan — When you’re a cat in Japan, it’s easy to be beloved, but that doesn’t mean you get an all access pass to every building.
However, two cats in Onomichi, Japan, didn’t quite get that memo.
The male cats are named Ken-chan (the black cat) and Go-chan (the orange tabby), and Ken-chan tried to sneak into the Onomichi City Museum of Art for at least two years before he brought his friend Go-chan along, according to the AV Club. But it’s not until recently that the cats’ antics went viral.
In the video compilation, you’ll see a security guard and other museum employees patiently stopping each cat from entering the building. The humans are gentle and kind to the persistent felines as they deny them entry, but deny them they must.
Even though the tenacious tabbies are adorable (like, really adorable) in their attempts, they sure don’t live up to the stealthy cat stereotype. Basically, they would make the worst cat burglars ever.
It’s not clear why the cats want to get into the museum so badly. Most cats aren’t patrons or lovers of fine art, after all. That being said, it may not be a coincidence that Ken-chan started showing up at the museum during a cat photography exhibition. (True story, according to the AV Club).
The museum has embraced their feline fame so much that two things have happened. First, their Twitter feed is practically 100 percent dedicated to Ken-chan and Go-chan. And second, the museum now sells Ken-chan and Go-chan merch that they can’t keep in stock. Hey, when you find your niche, you gotta go for it.
Apparently, the cats aren’t homeless, but museum employees don’t know who they belong to. However, when the cats aren’t making a try for the front door, they are often seen on the park-like grounds of the museum, presumably plotting their next attempt for museum entry.
