Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office

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Sybil, the current Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office
Sybil, the current Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office

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 was officially given the title,[1] and 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 mouser and pet since the reign of Henry VIII,[2] although official records released into the public domain on January 4, 2005 by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 only date back to June 3, 1929,[3][4] 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".[5] In April 1932, his weekly allowance was upped to 1s 6d. By the 21st century, the mouser was costing £100 per annum.[6]

As the cats are "employed" as civil servants,[7] 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 current mouser, Sybil, began her tenure on September 11, 2007, and was the first mouser for ten years following the retirement of her predecessor, Humphrey in 1997. Sybil is owned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, who currently lives in 10 Downing Street while the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, lives in the larger 11 Downing Street.[8][9]

Contents

[edit] List of cats

Name Began tenure Ended tenure Prime Minister(s) Refs
Treasury Bill 1924 Ramsay MacDonald [10]
Peter fl. 1929 1946 Stanley Baldwin, Ramsay MacDonald, Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee [3]
Munich Mouser 1937–1940 1943 Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill [11][12]
Nelson 1940s Winston Churchill [12][13]
Peter II 1946 1948 Clement Attlee [3]
Peter 1948 1964 Clement Attlee, Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home [3]
Peta 1964 ca. 1978 Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath [3]
Wilberforce 1970 1988 Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher [14]
Humphrey 1989 1997 Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair [15]
Sybil 2007 Incumbent Gordon Brown [16][17]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Purr-fect ending fur Humphrey!", BBC News, British Broadcasting Corporation, 25 November 1997. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  2. ^ Davies, Caroline. "More questions over how No 10 handled the kitty", The Daily Telegraph, 24 November 1997. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  3. ^ a b c d e "Home Office cat history revealed", BBC News, British Broadcasting Corporation, 2005-01-04. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  4. ^ The official Home Office cat. HM Government. The National Archives (1929–1976). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  5. ^ "Tale of Home Office cat", Metro, Associated Newspapers, 2005-01-04. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  6. ^ Millward, David. "Humphrey... the Downing Street dossier", The Daily Telegraph, 2005-03-15. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  7. ^ Fenton, Ben. "The official Home Office cat", The Daily Telegraph, 2005-01-04. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  8. ^ "No. 10 has its first cat since Humphrey", Reuters, 2007-09-12. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  9. ^ Nick, Assinder. "No 10 gets new feline first lady", BBC News, British Broadcasting Corporation, 2007-09-12. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  10. ^ Employed Cats and Their Pay. note: reprint. OldAndSold.com (1936). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
    • EMPLOYED CATS AND THEIR PAY. note: reprint. messybeast.com (1936). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  11. ^ Irving, David (2001). Churchill's War Volume II: Triumph in Adversity. Focal Point Publications, p. 833. ISBN 1-872-19715-9. 
  12. ^ a b "Riddles, Mysteries, Enigmas" (Spring 2001). Finest Hour (110). The Churchill Centre. 
  13. ^ "Riddles, Mysteries, Enigmas" (Winter 2000-2001). Finest Hour (109). The Churchill Centre. 
  14. ^ Merrick, Jane. "Ten years after the Humphrey hoo-ha, a cat returns to Downing Street", The Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers, 2007-09-11. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  15. ^ Humphrey the Cat (PDF). HM Government. Cabinet Office. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  16. ^ Morning press briefing from 11 September 2007. 10 Downing Street. HM Government (2007-09-11). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  17. ^ Number 10 welcomes new resident. 10 Downing Street. HM Government (2007-09-11). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.

[edit] Further reading

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[edit] External links