IRAQ: Combat cats

U.S. troops in Iraq are told never to adopt stray dogs and cats as pets. Too many potential problems.

But an animal that can contribute to the U.S. mission, that's a different story.

So the five or so cats found prowling an abandoned hotel at a former British Royal Air Force base in Habbaniya that the Marines are using as a headquarters have been assigned official duties as mouse removal specialists.

Marines, sentimentalists that they are, have given the cats endearing names. One cat is called Fathead. He sleeps days and is on duty at night.

— Tony Perry in Habbaniya

Photo: Fathead, one of the cats at Habbaniya assigned to keep the mouse population under control. Credit: Tony Perry / Los Angeles Times