UK Foreign Office cat makes first kill

Palmerston, a black and white cat, was congratulated on Twitter by top civil servant Sir Simon McDonald after snaring his first rodent on Tuesday.

Updated - May 03, 2016 08:41 pm IST - London

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s ‘Chief Mouser’ cat hired to wage war on mice has made its first kill just weeks in the job.

Palmerston, a black and white cat, was congratulated on Twitter by top civil servant Sir Simon McDonald after snaring his first rodent on Tuesday.

The FCO permanent under-secretary tweeted a picture of the cat and praised his work as the second biggest news story of the day after Leicester’s historic title victory in the Premier League.

The pet was a rescue cat from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and has been named after the former Foreign Minister and Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston.

In his short career in office, the cat has already met ambassadors from Spain and South Korea, Evening Standard reported.

The idea of having a Chief Mouser at the FCO came from Downing Street where a resident “mouser” has been employed since the reign of Henry VIII.

The current Chief Mouser to the UK Cabinet Office is a brown and white cat named Larry Cameron.

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