Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office

Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office is the title of the official

Chief Mouser to the
resident cat at 10 Downing Street, the residence and executive
office of the prime minister of the United Kingdom in London. Cabinet Office
There has been a resident cat in the British government employed
as a mouser and pet since the 16th century, although modern
records date only to the 1920s. Despite other cats having served
Downing Street, the first one to be given the official title of Chief
Mouser by the British government was Larry in 2011. Other cats
have been given this title affectionately, usually by the British Royal Arms of His Majesty's
press. Government

In 2004, a study was conducted showing that voters' perceptions

of the Chief Mouser were not completely above partisanship.

Flag of the United Kingdom

History
There is evidence of a cat in residence in the English government
dating back to the reign of Henry VIII,[2] when Cardinal Thomas
Wolsey placed his cat by his side while acting in his judicial
capacity as Lord Chancellor.[3] Official records, however, 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,[4][5] when
A.E. Banham at the Treasury authorised the Office Keeper "to
Current
spend 1d[a] a day from petty cash towards the maintenance of an
Larry
efficient cat".[6] In April 1932, the weekly allowance was
since 15 February 2011
increased to 1s 6d.[b] By the 21st century, the mouser was costing
£100 per annum.[7] The cats do not necessarily belong to the Government of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister in residence, and it is rare for the Chief Mouser's Prime Minister's Office
term of office to coincide with that of a Prime Minister.[8] The cat Cabinet Office
with the longest known tenure at Downing Street is Wilberforce,
who served under four different Prime Ministers: Edward Heath, Residence 10 Downing Street
Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan, and Margaret Thatcher.[9][10] Appointer Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom
The post has been held by Larry since 2011,[11] the first to be
Term No set length; ends
given the title officially.[1][12] The departure of the previous
length on retirement or
incumbent, Sybil, was in January 2009. Sybil, who began her
death
tenure on 11 September 2007, was the first mouser for ten years
following the retirement of her predecessor Humphrey in 1997. Inaugural Cardinal Wolsey's cat
Sybil was owned by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair holder
Darling, who lived in 10 Downing Street while the then Prime
Formation c. 1515
Minister, Gordon Brown, lived in the larger 11 Downing
Title first used around
Street.[13][14] It was reported that Sybil did not stay in London, 1997[1]
and was returned to Scotland to live with a friend of the Darlings. Website Official website (http
Sybil died on 27 July 2009.[15][16] s://www.gov.uk/gover
nment/history/10-dow
In January 2011, rats were seen in Downing Street, "scurrying
across the steps of Number 10 Downing Street for the second time ning-street#larry-chief
during a TV news report," according to ITN.[17] There being no -mouser)
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;[18] 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 might indeed be brought in to deal with the
problem.[18] On 14 February 2011, it was reported that a cat called "Larry" had been brought in to address
the problem.[19] The London Evening Standard reported that the cat had been selected by David Cameron
and his family, from those at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.[19]

Chief Mousers in the past have overlapped, or been phased in, though the position can and has remained
vacant for extended periods of time. Larry is the only Chief Mouser listed on the official website for
Number 10.[12]

Partisanship study
In 2004, Robert Ford, a political scientist at the University of Manchester, reported on a YouGov survey on
partisan reactions to the Downing Street cats. Participants in the survey were shown a picture of Humphrey,
the Chief Mouser appointed by Margaret Thatcher, and told that he was either Thatcher's cat or Tony
Blair's cat. Affinity for the cat divided along partisan lines: Conservative voters liked the cat far more when
they were told he was Thatcher's and Labour voters liked the cat far more when they were told he was
Blair's. Ford concludes that partisanship shapes reactions to everything a politician does, however trivial,
similar to the halo effect (and a reverse "forked tail effect") observed by psychologists.[20]

List of Chief Mousers

Began Ended
Name Prime Minister(s) Refs
tenure tenure

Rufus of
England
(popularly c. Ramsay [23]
1924
nicknamed 1930[22] MacDonald
"Treasury
Bill")[21][22]
Stanley Baldwin, Larry in 2011 with Prime Minister
Ramsay David Cameron and U.S. President
MacDonald,
Peter 1929[c] 1946[4] Neville [4][8] Barack Obama
Chamberlain,
Winston Churchill,
Clement Attlee

Neville
Munich 1937– [24][25]
1943 Chamberlain,
Mouser 40
Winston Churchill

Nelson 1940s Winston Churchill [25][26]

Peter II 1946 1947 Clement Attlee [4]

Clement Attlee,
Winston Churchill,
Anthony Eden, [4]
Peter III 1947 1964
Harold Macmillan,
Alec Douglas-
Home
Alec Douglas-
Home, Harold [4]
Peta 1964 c. 1976
Wilson, Edward
Heath

Edward Heath,
Harold Wilson, Jim [9][10]
Wilberforce 1973 1986
Callaghan,
Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher,
Humphrey 1989 1997 John Major, Tony [27]
Blair

Sybil 2007 2009 Gordon Brown [14][15][28]

Freya 2012 2014 David Cameron [29]

David Cameron,
Theresa May,
Larry 2011 current Boris Johnson, Liz [30]
Truss, Rishi
Sunak
See also
Palmerston (cat), former Chief Mouser to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Gladstone (cat), Chief Mouser to HM Treasury since 2016
Tibs the Great, the British Post Office's former "number one cat"

Lists
Canadian Parliamentary Cats
List of individual cats
Pets of Vladimir Putin
United States presidential pets

Notes
a. 1 penny, worth £0.27 in 2021.
b. 1 shilling and six pence, worth £5.54 in 2021.
c. According to the Sunday Mail article Treasury Bill/Rufus (Peter's predecessor) was
apparently still on duty in 1930.

References
1. "Purr-fect ending fur Humphrey!" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/34455.stm).
BBC News. 25 November 1997. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
2. Davies, Caroline (24 November 1997). "More questions over how No 10 handled the kitty"
(https://web.archive.org/web/20071205223254/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtm
l?html=%2Farchive%2F1997%2F11%2F24%2Fnmog124.html). The Daily Telegraph.
Archived from the original (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/199
7/11/24/nmog124.html) on 5 December 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
3. Van Vechten, Carl (1922). "The Cat and the Law" (https://www.bartleby.com/234/6.html). The
Tiger in the House (https://www.bartleby.com/234/). Alfred A. Knopf – via Bartleby.com.
4. "Home Office cat history revealed" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4143423.stm). BBC
News. 4 January 2005. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
5. "The official Home Office cat" (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycatalogu
edetails.asp?CATLN=6&CATID=1835842). The National Archives. 1929–1976. Retrieved
30 October 2011.
6. "Tale of Home Office cat" (https://metro.co.uk/2005/01/04/tale-of-home-office-cat-259530/).
Metro. Associated Newspapers. 4 January 2005. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
7. Millward, David (15 March 2005). "Humphrey... the Downing Street dossier" (https://web.arch
ive.org/web/20050317125330/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%
2F2005%2F03%2F14%2Fndoss14.xml). The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original (ht
tps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/03/14/ndoss14.xml) on 17
March 2005. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
8. Fenton, Ben (4 January 2005). "Cats that left a mark in the corridors of power" (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20050523101413/http://telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F
2005%2F01%2F04%2Fnfoi404.xml). The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original (http
s://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/04/nfoi404.xml) on 23 May
2005. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
 9. Roberts, Patrick. "Wilberforce" (http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/famous/humphrey.html#wilberfor
ce). Purr 'n' Fur: Famous Felines. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
10. Associated Press (20 May 1988). "Wilberforce the Cat, Mouser to 4 British Leaders, Dead at
15" (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-05-20-mn-3809-story.html). Los Angeles
Times. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
11. Kraemer, Daniel; Sleator, Laurence (24 July 2019). "The new PM's first job: Impress the cat"
(https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49049852). BBC. Archived (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20190724172302/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49049852) from the original on
July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
12. "Larry, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office" (http://www.number10.gov.uk/history-and-tour/larr
y-the-cat-chief-mouser-to-the-cabinet-office/). 10 Downing Street. Retrieved 31 December
2012.
13. "No. 10 has its first cat since Humphrey" (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-cat-odd-i
dUSGOR14568220070912). Reuters. 12 September 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
14. Nick, Assinder (12 September 2007). "No 10 gets new feline first lady" (http://news.bbc.co.u
k/1/hi/uk_politics/6989055.stm). BBC News. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
15. Crichton, Torcuil (29 July 2009). "Darling's cat Sybil dies after a short illness" (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20090802101755/http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/news/display.var.252263
7.0.Darlings_cat_Sybil_dies_after_a_short_illness.php). The Herald. Archived from the
original (http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/news/display.var.2522637.0.Darlings_cat_Sybil_
dies_after_a_short_illness.php) on 2 August 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
16. McSmith, Andy (29 July 2009). "Farewell to the original New Labour cat" (https://www.indep
endent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/farewell-to-the-original-new-labour-cat-1764021.html). The
Independent. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
17. "Another rat spotted on steps of Number 10" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120404121742/
http://news.uk.msn.com/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=155956883). ITN. MSN. 24 January
2011. Archived from the original (https://news.uk.msn.com/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=155
956883) on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
18. " "Pro-cat faction" urges Downing Street rat rethink" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-
12265112). BBC News. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
19. Woodhouse, Craig (14 February 2011). "Larry the tabby lands No10 job as rat catcher" (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20110504073012/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/politics/art
icle-23923294-larry-the-tabby-lands-no10-job-as-rat-catcher.do). London Evening Standard.
Archived from the original (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/politics/article-23923294-l
arry-the-tabby-lands-no10-job-as-rat-catcher.do) on 4 May 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
20. Ford, Robert (2004). "Of mousers and men: how politics colours everything we see". Sex,
Lies and the Ballot Box: 50 Things You Need To Know About British Elections. London:
Biteback Publishing. ISBN 1849548250.
21. "Larry the cat joins David Cameron in Downing Street" (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politic
s-12460596). BBC.com. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2019. "During the 1920s,
Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald's cat - a renowned rat-catcher - had the rather
regal title of Rufus of England, but was nicknamed "Treasury Bill"."
22. "The Cat that Looked at a Chancellor" (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63654594/
5310743). National Library of Australia. Sunday Mail (Adelaide). 5 July 1930. Retrieved
6 July 2019.
23. Campbell, Mel (19 May 2010). " 'Miaow, Prime Minister': the bureaucats of Downing Street"
(http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/05/19/miaow-prime-minister-the-bureaucats-of-downing-stre
et/). Crikey. Retrieved 25 January 2011.(subscription required)
24. Irving, David (2001). Churchill's War Volume II: Triumph in Adversity. Focal Point
Publications. p. 833. ISBN 1-872197-15-9.
25. "Riddles, Mysteries, Enigmas". Finest Hour. The Churchill Centre (110). Spring 2001.
26. "Riddles, Mysteries, Enigmas". Finest Hour. The Churchill Centre (109). Winter 2000–2001.
27. "Humphrey the Cat" (https://web.archive.org/web/20071007232134/http://www.cabinetoffice.
gov.uk/upload/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/foi/humphrey_cat.pdf) (PDF). Cabinet Office.
Archived from the original (http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/upload/assets/www.cabinetoffice.
gov.uk/foi/humphrey_cat.pdf) (PDF) on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
28. "Morning press briefing from 11 September 2007" (https://web.archive.org/web/2008010411
4933/http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page13158.asp). 10 Downing Street, Government of the
United Kingdom. 11 September 2007. Archived from the original (http://www.pm.gov.uk/outp
ut/Page13158.asp) on 4 January 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
29. Dearden, Lizzie (9 November 2014). "George Osborne's family cat Freya sent away from
Downing Street to Kent" (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/george-osbornes-f
amily-cat-freya-sent-away-from-downing-street-to-kent-9849853.html). The Independent.
Retrieved 7 February 2015.
30. "History of 10 Downing Street" (https://archive.today/20130901101847/https://www.gov.uk/g
overnment/history/10-downing-street%23emergence-of-downing-street). UK. Archived from
the original (https://www.gov.uk/government/history/10-downing-street) on 1 September
2013. Retrieved 13 December 2017.

Further reading
Brawn, David (December 1995). A Day in the Life of Humphrey the Downing Street Cat.
HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-471000-2.
Roberts, Patrick. "Peter, the British Home Office Cat(s)" (http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/famous/
peter.html). Purr 'n' Fur.
Roberts, Patrick. "Downing Street Cats Sybil, Humphrey and Wilberforce" (http://www.purr-n-
fur.org.uk/famous/humphrey.html). Purr 'n' Fur.

External links
Gov.UK Prime Minister (https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/prime-minister)
10 Downing Street official website (https://www.gov.uk/government/history/10-downing-stree
t)
Official Chief Mouser Page at 10 Downing Street Web Site (http://www.number10.gov.uk/hist
ory-and-tour/larry-the-cat-chief-mouser-to-the-cabinet-office/)

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