Fur real? Indonesia’s ‘first cat’ gets presidential security detail

Indonesia’s “first cat” Bobby Kertanegara is entitled to receive state facilities, a minister has said in response to criticisms after a video of President Prabowo Subianto’s pet being given special treatment went viral.

Deputy State Secretary Juri Ardiantoro said that, as Bobby was considered part of the president’s property, the feline was therefore entitled to his security detail.

“It’s not just the president, but the president’s property is also the responsibility of the state to be maintained,” Juri said on Thursday, as quoted by Tempo news magazine.

Citing examples of other presidential properties, such as Prabowo’s house, the former chair of the General Elections Commission then asked a rhetorical question: “Now I want to ask, who does Bobby belong to? Can the state guard him? Of course, it can. Why should there be a protest?”

Juri was responding to a video of Bobby attending the Cat Lovers Social Day 2025 event in Jakarta on Saturday. The video circulating on social media shows Bobby being pushed in a pet stroller and escorted by several police officers onto the stage.

A user on the X social media platform uploaded the video on Tuesday with the caption: “Pathetic. Getting paid with the sweat of the people just to escort a cat? Have we gone so astray as a nation that practices like this can still persist in 2025?”