“They travel to front line and give paw”: how combat cats Mavik and Leo amuse border guards – photos, video

Border guards of the Carpathian Detachment have come back from their rotations at the front with new four-legged pets: black cat Mavik (as the Mavic drone - ed.) and spotted cat Leo. The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine called the animals "sPETScial border guards." "Mavik, a black cat, came to Lviv Oblast from Kharkiv Oblast.

In 2023, border guards found a frightened kitten, nursed it back to health and took it with them," the border guards say.

This is the second year Mavik has been travelling with the military to the front line, and he lives at the permanent deployment point of the unit during rotations. The cat is responsible for the absence of mice in the dugout. And during his stay with the military, he even learned to give a paw on command.

"He is calm. Born in the east during the attack, he is a combat cat," says a soldier who goes by the alias Rai (Paradise).

Leo, a spotted cat from Lviv Oblast, was given to the border guard who goes by the alias Kaban (Boar) by his mother-in-law. This cat also travels to the front line and warns the military about attacks with his behaviour: he hides or climbs a tree.

"My wife's mother gave me a cat. They had two cats: a white one and this one. He was more dexterous and energetic, so I took him.

Whenever there was an attack, he would immediately climb a tree or hide behind me. He slept with me on the bed in the basement," recalls Kaban. Once Kaban thought that his Leo had run away to the forest.

But the story ended with a happy ending: three hours later, the cat came back. "Pets become a good thing for soldiers at the front, helping them to hold on and give them comfort," the State Border Guard Service said. Background: Earlier, servicemen from Ukraine's National Guard spoke about their morale-boosting cat Kotusko, who used to carry out "strategic tasks" near their positions. 

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