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LINCOLN — A beloved fixture known to greet visitors to Nebraska’s Capitol will not be returning to Lincoln for the legislative session in January.
Cameron the Capitol Cat has moved to a new home with his caretaker, Diana McGinnis, who hopes his former constituents will remember his tenure in the Legislature.
The 10-year-old cat lived in a condo near the Capitol building with McGinnis, who refers to herself not as his owner, but as a caretaker of a free spirit.
“She doesn’t believe people own their pets,” Marilyn Kruger, McGinnis’s younger sister, said. “They watch over them. She very much wants this cat to be happy and enjoy himself.”
Cameron often rose early, Kruger said, and McGinnis would let him out of the condo to wander. Cameron took his civic duties very seriously and wandered to the nearby statehouse to ensure lawmakers were enacting the will of the people.
“He’s had quite a few adventures,” Kruger said. “He would hang out at the Capitol all day greeting people.”
Cameron’s time at the Capitol did not come without speed bumps. Some visitors believed Cameron was a stray, and over the years, Kruger guessed he was “catnapped” by well-meaning strangers three times from the Capitol.
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But for the most part, state senators, staff and visitors alike were very welcoming to Cameron and made sure he was well fed and watered during his stays. Kruger said his picture has been taken with visitors from all over the world, including with Gov. Jim Pillen.
Pillen’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Cameron’s legacy by press time.
McGinnis is just as independent as Cameron, Kruger said, but in recent months experienced a serious health decline and chronic physical pain. A visit to the doctor confirmed a late-stage cancer diagnosis in late March, and both McGinnis and Cameron left the condo by the Capitol.
“She can’t be independent anymore, and it’s very upsetting to her,” Kruger said. “Cameron isn’t really thrilled about the situation, either.”
Both McGinnis and Cameron enjoy visitors to their new home, and Kruger said Cameron continues to enjoy his long-founded popularity with his new constituents, as he has taken to wandering the halls to check on other residents.
“He may become Cameron the assisted-living facility cat,” Kruger said.
McGinnis still owns the condo near the Capitol, but should Cameron outlive her, Kruger said he will go to live with McGinnis’ and Kruger’s other sister in southeast Nebraska, and the condo will be sold. McGinnis is doing well, Kruger added, though her illness is very advanced.
“The biggest thing (to McGinnis) is care for Cameron,” Kruger said. “She wants to make sure he is properly cared for. She loves that he is a celebrity. He is a very special cat.”
McGinnis wants Cameron’s former statewide constituents to remember him. She hopes that one day there will be a statue of Cameron at the Capitol building to commemorate his years of service.
This story was originally published by Nebraska Public Media News, a network of local reporters working with a National Public Radio station based in Lincoln.
