A bunch of capybaras adopted a stray orange cat in Malaysia, and now it's officially part of the enclosure at the country's national zoo

• An orange cat has become a Malaysian zoo's biggest attraction after it was adopted by capybaras.
• Oyen the cat is so popular that his presence sometimes doubles visitor numbers, the zoo says.

A stray orange cat has been stealing the show at Malaysia's national zoo ever since it started living among a herd of capybaras.

Thousands of parkgoers now flock to see Oyen the ginger cat at Zoo Negara every weekend, doubling visitor numbers on some days, the zoo's vice president, Rosly Rahmat Ahmat Lana, told local newspaper Bernama.

"Every day, 95% of the visitors are here just to see Oyen. He is very popular," Rosly told the outlet on Tuesday.

Zookeepers aren't sure when Oyen moved into the Kuala Lumpur park's capybara enclosure, but they believe he was abandoned at the zoo during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rosly told Free Malaysia Today.

The ginger tabby has repeatedly gone viral on social media, via clips of him lounging around the enclosure and snuggling with the capybaras, who seem unperturbed by their feline visitor.

Zoo Negara officially introduced Oyen as part of the enclosure in June, when it added his name to the exhibit.

Rosly told Bernama that Zoo Negara is feeding Oyen and monitoring the cat's health, and plans to find him a partner in hopes of establishing a capybara-inclined cat bloodline.

"Unlike before, Oyen is now docile and approachable. Should Oyen fall ill one day, it will be easy for us to hold and treat it," he said.

Capybaras, the world's largest rodents, have over the last two years been growing in popularity on the internet for their calm temperament and droopy demeanor, featuring in thousands of viral memes.

Zoo Negara did not immediately respond to a request for comment.