Humphrey (hangover)

Humphrey
General
species	Domestic cat
Born	around 1988
Service data
position	Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office
monarch	Elizabeth II
prime minister	Margaret Thatcher , John Major , Tony Blair
Period	1989-1997
status	off-duty
predecessor	Wilberforce
successor	Sybil

Humphrey (* around 1988 ; † March 15, 2006 ) was a tomcat who lived in No. Downing Street from October 1989 to November 13, 1997 . 10 , the official residence of the British Prime Minister , served as a mouse catcher. Until his retirement, he held the title of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office .

Humphrey thus served under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher , John Major, and Tony Blair . In 2005, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph , citing a new law, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 , obtained files on Humphrey that revealed new information about his role. The file was four centimeters thick.

Service under the Tory Government

The stray animal was found in 1989 by a government official and named after the fictional civil servant state secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby from the sitcom Yes Minister . Cared for by Downing Street officials, Humphrey succeeded the cat Wilberforce , who had served there as a mouse catcher from 1973 to April 1987. The dilapidated condition of some of the houses on the street and the nearby St. James's Park ensured a steady supply of rats and mice. More food was provided by his department, which set up a special item in their budget for this. With a maintenance cost of around £ 100 per annum, Humphrey was cheaper than Downing Street's official exterminator , who billed £ 4,000 a year but reportedly never caught a mouse. A detailed memorandum from the Cabinet Office dated 1992 gave him an immaculate certificate of service: “He is a workaholic who spends most of his time at his post. He has no criminal record, has little social interaction and, to the best of our knowledge, has never been involved in sex or drug scandals. "

Humphrey soon became a popular photo spot for many tourists. In 1993 an internal memorandum was circulated in the Cabinet Office , from which it emerged that Humphrey had kidney disease and was therefore placed on a special diet; uncontrolled feeding was banned. On June 7, 1994, he was accused in the British press of killing four robin chicks from a nest not far from the window of then Prime Minister John Major's study ; Major exonerated him the following day, however. He is pretty sure, says Major, "that Humphrey is not a serial killer." Notes on the file held by the Daily Telegraph show that the allegations were assessed internally as “defamatory” and “completely unfounded”.

In June 1995, Humphrey disappeared without a trace, and on September 25, the premier's press secretary announced the cat's likely death. Then the British tabloids got involved in the search for the missing person, and shortly afterwards he was safely discovered in a facility of the British Army for the training of hospital doctors. He ran up to the staff there. The medics named it PC . An official released a statement allegedly dictated by Humphrey: “I had a wonderful vacation at the Royal Army Medical College , but it's nice to be back. I'm looking forward to the next parliamentary session. "

In 1996, Humphrey graced the UK government's official Christmas card. He hit the headlines again when he was almost overrun by his several-ton Cadillac while on a state visit by Bill Clinton .

Change of power and retirement

After Tony Blair moved to Downing Street in May 1997 after his election victory, rumors arose that Cherie Blair , the premier's wife, had asked for Humphrey to be abolished because she thought cats were dirty or was allergic to them. A Blair spokesman denied this with the words that 10 Downing Street was Humphrey's home and, according to the Blair couple, it would stay that way. A joint photo of Cherie and Humphrey was published as evidence.

In November 1997, Jonathan Reeve, the officer responsible for Humphrey, warned that Humphrey be retired. The cat needed a stable environment in which he could be properly cared for, and so on November 13, 1997, he was given the care of an elderly couple in south London. Humphrey's kidney disease was cited as the reason for the decision, but the British press suspected an intrigue of the allegedly anti-cat Cherie Blair; It was even rumored that the premier's wife had ordered the killing of Humphrey. Some conservative politicians vented their outrage: Nigel Evans speculated that after eight happy years under the Tories, now after six months under the Labor government, Humphrey had lost the joy of life and became void. Alan Clark, a member of the House of Commons, called for an investigation and evidence that Humphrey was still alive. Blair's office then reiterated that Humphrey's resettlement was based on veterinary advice. On November 24th, a group of selected journalists were shown to Humphrey's new home. The following day, photos appeared in the British daily newspapers as proof that the cat was still alive, showing the lively Humphrey alongside the current daily newspapers. It was also reported that Humphrey had gained some weight. However, his exact whereabouts remained classified.

For the next several years, Humphrey became silent, and many suspected he had died. In its March 2005 report on Humphrey, the Daily Telegraph wrote : "Where Humphrey is now - or whether he is still with us at all - remains a mystery". On June 22nd of that year, however, the daily newspaper The Independent wrote that the now seventeen-year-old cat was still alive and well.

On March 20, 2006, a government spokesman officially announced that Humphrey had died of old age at the age of 18.