Russian cat reputed to have psychic powers has predicted the result of the first game of the World Cup.
Achilles, whose day job is catching mice at the St Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum, plumped for his home nation of Russia, who play Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the tournament today.
The feline garnered a reputation as a psychic last summer by predicting a number of results correctly in the Confederations Cup, which was also held in Russia.

Yesterday Achilles, who is deaf, was presented to the world’s media for his first prediction of the tournament.

The cat was offered two bowls of food with the flags of two nations over each. He initially hesitated for a moment before eating from the one representing his motherland.

Anna Kondratyeva, the Hermitage’s veterinarian, later said that Achilles “loves his motherland and couldn’t vote otherwise.”

The cat was then dressed in a Russia national team football shirt for photographs.

Achilles is the latest animal hoping to carve out a niche as a psychic World Cup predictor following the breakout success of Paul the Octopus in 2010.

The cephalopod rose to global celebrity during the South Africa World Cup when he correctly predicted the results of 12 matches, out of 14 attempts.

source: telegraph.co.uk