Benedict may have some feline company in the Vatican

It looks like Pope Benedict will be able to enjoy the company of cats in his retirement home inside the Vatican.

This curious photo, made available by the Vatican newspaper, shows a black-and-white spotted cat ranging through an area next to the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, where the retired pope took up lodgings today.

The Vatican Gardens is said to have a number of stray cats roaming the grounds, and they will find a friend in the former pope. As a cardinal, he famously fed the stray cats in the Borgo neighborhood where he lived, according to Vatican officials.

As pope, we were told he never kept a house cat, but from was rumored to have fed the cats in the Vatican Gardens. Maybe this one is an old acquaintance.