Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office
Encyclopedia
The Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office is the unofficial title of the official resident
cat
of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
at 10 Downing Street
. Only one cat, Humphrey, was given the title officially; the other cats are given this title affectionately, usually by the British press. There has been a resident Treasury
or Downing Street
cat "employed" as a mouser and pet since the reign of Henry VIII
when Cardinal Wolsey placed his cat by his side while acting in his judicial capacity as Lord Chancellor. Official records released into the public domain on 4 January 2005 as part of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
only date back to 3 June 1929, when AE Banham at the Treasury authorised the Office Keeper "to spend 1d a day from petty cash
towards the maintenance of an efficient cat". In April 1932 the weekly allowance was increased to 1s
6d. By the 21st century, the mouser was costing £
100 per annum.
Since the cats are viewed as civil servants, they do not belong to the Prime Minister in residence and it is rare for the Chief Mouser's "term of office" to coincide with that of the Prime Minister. The cat with the longest tenure at Downing Street is Wilberforce
, who served under Edward Heath
, Harold Wilson
, Jim Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher
. The post is currently held by Larry
, since 14 February 2011. The departure of the last incumbent, Sybil
, was in January 2009. Sybil, who began her tenure on 11 September 2007, was the first mouser for ten years following the retirement of her predecessor Humphrey
in 1997. Sybil was owned by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer
Alistair Darling
, who lived in 10 Downing Street while the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown
, lived in the larger 11 Downing Street
. It was reported that she did not settle in London, and returned to Scotland to live with a friend of the Darlings. Sybil died on 27 July 2009.
In January 2011 rats were seen in Downing Street, "scurrying across the steps of number 10 Downing Street for the second time during a TV news report", according to ITN. There being no incumbent Chief Mouser at that time, the Prime Minister's spokesman said there were "no plans" for a cat to be brought in to tackle the problem; however, the following day newspapers reported that the spokesman had said there was a "pro-cat faction" within Downing Street, leading to speculation that a replacement may indeed be brought in to deal with the problem. On 14 February 2011 it was reported that a cat called "Larry" had been brought in to address the problem. The Evening Standard
reported that the cat had been selected by David Cameron
and his family, from those at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
.
Official residence
An official residence is the residence at which heads of state, heads of government, gubernatorial or other senior figures officially reside...
cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
at 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
. Only one cat, Humphrey, was given the title officially; the other cats are given this title affectionately, usually by the British press. There has been a resident Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
or Downing Street
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
cat "employed" as a mouser and pet since the reign of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
when Cardinal Wolsey placed his cat by his side while acting in his judicial capacity as Lord Chancellor. Official records released into the public domain on 4 January 2005 as part of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level...
only date back to 3 June 1929, when AE Banham at the Treasury authorised the Office Keeper "to spend 1d a day from petty cash
Petty cash
Petty cash is a small amount of discretionary funds in the form of cash used for expenditures where it is not sensible to make any disbursement by cheque, because of the inconvenience and costs of writing, signing and then cashing the cheque...
towards the maintenance of an efficient cat". In April 1932 the weekly allowance was increased to 1s
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
6d. By the 21st century, the mouser was costing £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
100 per annum.
Since the cats are viewed as civil servants, they do not belong to the Prime Minister in residence and it is rare for the Chief Mouser's "term of office" to coincide with that of the Prime Minister. The cat with the longest tenure at Downing Street is Wilberforce
Wilberforce (cat)
Wilberforce was a cat who lived at 10 Downing Street between 1973 and 1987 and served under four British Prime Ministers: Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher. His chief function was to catch mice, in which role he was the successor to Petra...
, who served under Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
, Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, Jim Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. The post is currently held by Larry
Larry (cat)
Larry is the name of the current 10 Downing Street cat popularly known as the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office.A brown tabby, believed to be between three and five years old, Larry is a rescue cat from the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and was chosen by Downing Street staff...
, since 14 February 2011. The departure of the last incumbent, Sybil
Sybil (cat)
Sybil was a cat living at 11 and 10 Downing Street. Named after Sybil Fawlty from the TV show Fawlty Towers, she was the pet of former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling....
, was in January 2009. Sybil, who began her tenure on 11 September 2007, was the first mouser for ten years following the retirement of her predecessor Humphrey
Humphrey (cat)
Humphrey was a cat employed as the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from October 1989 to 13 November 1997...
in 1997. Sybil was owned by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
Alistair Darling
Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, currently for Edinburgh South West. He served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010...
, who lived in 10 Downing Street while the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, lived in the larger 11 Downing Street
11 Downing Street
11 Downing Street , is the official residence of the Second Lord of the Treasury in Britain, who in modern times has always been the Chancellor of the Exchequer...
. It was reported that she did not settle in London, and returned to Scotland to live with a friend of the Darlings. Sybil died on 27 July 2009.
In January 2011 rats were seen in Downing Street, "scurrying across the steps of number 10 Downing Street for the second time during a TV news report", according to ITN. There being no incumbent Chief Mouser at that time, the Prime Minister's spokesman said there were "no plans" for a cat to be brought in to tackle the problem; however, the following day newspapers reported that the spokesman had said there was a "pro-cat faction" within Downing Street, leading to speculation that a replacement may indeed be brought in to deal with the problem. On 14 February 2011 it was reported that a cat called "Larry" had been brought in to address the problem. The Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
reported that the cat had been selected by David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
and his family, from those at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is the UK's oldest and most famous home for dogs and cats and is situated in the Battersea area of London, England. It is financed by voluntary donations with an income of over £12.2 million in 2009.-History:...
.
List of cats
| Name | Began tenure | Ended tenure | Prime Minister(s) | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treasury Bill | 1924 | Ramsay MacDonald Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms.... |
||
| Peter | fl. Floruit Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active... 1929 |
1946 | Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars... , Ramsay MacDonald, Neville Chamberlain Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the... , Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice... , Clement Attlee Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955... |
|
| Munich Mouser | 1937–1940 | 1943 | Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill | |
| Nelson | 1940s | Winston Churchill | ||
| Peter II | 1946 | Clement Attlee | ||
| Peter III | 1946 | 1964 | Clement Attlee, Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957... , Harold Macmillan Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963.... , Alec Douglas-Home Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last... |
|
| Petra | 1964 | ca. Circa Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date... 1976 |
Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the... , Edward Heath Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party .... |
|
| Wilberforce Wilberforce (cat) Wilberforce was a cat who lived at 10 Downing Street between 1973 and 1987 and served under four British Prime Ministers: Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher. His chief function was to catch mice, in which role he was the successor to Petra... |
1970 | 1988 | Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990... |
|
| Humphrey Humphrey (cat) Humphrey was a cat employed as the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from October 1989 to 13 November 1997... |
1989 | 1997 | Margaret Thatcher, John Major John Major Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997... , Tony Blair Tony Blair Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007... |
|
| Sybil Sybil (cat) Sybil was a cat living at 11 and 10 Downing Street. Named after Sybil Fawlty from the TV show Fawlty Towers, she was the pet of former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling.... |
2007 | 2008 | Gordon Brown Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007... |
|
| Larry Larry (cat) Larry is the name of the current 10 Downing Street cat popularly known as the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office.A brown tabby, believed to be between three and five years old, Larry is a rescue cat from the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and was chosen by Downing Street staff... |
2011 | current | David Cameron David Cameron David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament .... |
|