UK Foreign Office cat beats Downing Street pet mouse-catcher
5 Sept 2017 12:09 AM IST
London: The rivalry between two world-famous cats in charge of prowling the political corridors of London to keep them mouse-free has a clear winner after new mouse- catching data was released on Monday. Palmerston, the UK Foreign Office cat, is being widely considered a winner over Larry, who is mostly only seen lazily strolling around at Downing Street.
Documents released under the UK's Freedom of Information (FoI) laws show Palmerston, named after former UK foreign secretary and two-time Prime Minister Viscount Palmerston, caught at least 27 mice since arriving at his post from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in 2016.
In fact, volunteers who look after the black-and-white cat claim that figure is "likely to be much higher".
The FCO said: "The FCO does not keep an accurate figure for the amount of mice caught by Palmerston.
"The PUS's (Permanent Under-Secretary, Sir Simon McDonald) office do receive reported sightings of Palmerston catching mice - so far (since Palmerston's arrival in April 2016) this figure is at 27.
This figure is likely to be much higher as these are only reported sightings.
"While there is no official count of white and grey Larry's mouse-catching activities, he is widely believed to have fallen behind his black and white Foreign Office competitor.
The FoI documents also revealed that Palmerston's diet comprises "a mixture of dry and wet food" and as much of his food is donated he enjoys a variety of brands.
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