Cat faithfully served the Lexington police for 20 years. Now they're mourning her passing.

There are police dogs, police horses, and then there was Hobbs, the police cat.

The Lexington Police Department is mourning the loss of Hobbs, the barn cat who had lived with the department's seven horses at their barn on Sixth Street for the past 20 years.

She died Tuesday.

Hobbs and a companion, Calvin, joined the police department as kittens, said Sgt. Joe Eckhardt, who leads the mounted unit. While he said Calvin disappeared somewhere along the way, Hobbs faithfully served for two decades, "keeping the stables free of mice, snakes and other pesky critters," the department said in a post on social media.

"Hobbs was an impressive cat, even winning the Lexington Humane Society's 'Cat of the Year' award in 2015," the post stated. "She loved getting attention from visitors touring the barn, riding the hay cart from stall to stall, and hanging out with horses and officers. Hobbs will be missed."

Eckhardt said he met Hobbs when he joined the unit 5 years ago.

"I wasn't a cat person until I met her," he said.

He said Hobbs was "an attention hog" who would sometimes plant herself in the middle of a horse's stall while an officer was trying to muck it.

"She loved the attention, and if you wouldn't give it to her, she'd find a way to get it," he said.

Eckhardt said Hobbs had developed cancer and in her last days struggled to breathe and eat.

"We had to make a hard decision. She was clearly suffering," he said.

Eckhardt said he expects that the mounted unit will probably get a new cat at some point, though replacing Hobbs will be difficult.

"It's a barn. It needs a cat," he said.

This story was originally published April 20, 2018 at 8:41 PM with the headline "Cat faithfully served the Lexington police for 20 years. Now they're mourning her passing.."