Alamo Cat keeps watch over Lone Star landmark CLAWS IN HER CONTRACT

Mission: To guard the Alamo

This cat keeps the Lone Star landmark safe from mice, bugs and other invaders

Clara Carmack, aka C.C., the Alamo Cat, resides at Texas' most well known landmark, the Alamo. Clara Carmack, aka C.C., the Alamo Cat, resides at Texas' most well known landmark, the Alamo. Photo: J. MICHAEL SHORT, Associated Press Photo: J. MICHAEL SHORT, Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Alamo Cat keeps watch over Lone Star landmark 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — When sunset paints the Alamo burnished gold and the evening wind whispers about brave heroes, Clara Carmack emerges from her snoozing spot, polishes her claws and gets ready to patrol.

Bugs, beware! Mice, you'd better scatter or surrender! Clara Carmack, aka C.C., is the latest in a line of furry Alamo defenders, and when protecting Texas' most famous landmark, she takes no prisoners.

"She's our guard kitty, and the grounds are her territory," says Pattie Sandoval, benefits coordinator for Alamo employees. "We may be her caretakers, but she's in charge here."

Named after Alamo preservationist Clara Driscoll and an Alamo Committee chairwoman, Mary Carmack, C.C. is the official Alamo Cat who lives and patrols at the Shrine of Texas Liberty. Although there have been cats on the grounds before, the 11-year-old, 12-pound, black-and-white darling has been delighting the staff and dutifully driving off rodents for a decade.

In turn, everyone who works at the shrine watches out for C.C.

Folks in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library encourage her to sleep on their desks and assist with historical research. One of the feline's favorite spots is the employee lounge where she commands a corner of the couch almost every afternoon.

Tourists often ask if C.C. has any feline friends — and, yes, there is a gray-striped fellow who comes calling, according to Koch. But basically, the Alamo Cat is the independent type and prefers to do her rounds alone. The rounds may take her to the ditch where koi swim behind the shrine. She likes to gaze at them longingly from the bank although they're far too big to catch.

Sometimes she'll pad through the arbor by the soft-drink machines or enter by way of the kitty door at the greenhouse. Often you can spy her in the bushes near the gift shop, watching attentively and making sure the crowds of visitors behave.

If you're really lucky, you may be there when C.C. decides to pussyfoot along with people on tour or when she picks out an animal lover, rolls over and allows her tummy to be petted. But don't get your hopes up too high. On any given day, the Alamo Cat can be invisible.

"Cats have a way of disappearing when they don't want you to see them or when they're just not in the mood to socialize," says Sally Koch, assistant coordinator of educational programs. "Who knows where they go? They're intriguing, mysterious creatures."

Remember the Alamo's cats

Cats have played an important role in Alamo history.

DRT Library researchers have found references to a feline that was present at the decisive battle in 1836, perhaps bringing comfort to Col. William B. Travis and his soldiers as they waited through the lonely night for Santa Anna's attack at dawn.

In the 1980s, another cat, Ruby Le Gato, was adopted by the Alamo's rangers and, on a basis of her guarding abilities, was awarded a "certificate of completion" from the Basic Security Officer Training Course at San Antonio College.

Immortalized in Rita Kerr's book, The Alamo Cat (Eakin Press, $9.95), Ruby is buried in a beautiful garden spot at the shrine where a little bronze plaque marks her resting place.