Peta
Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office
In role
8 May 1964 – 1976
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime Minister
Preceded byPeter III (1964)
Succeeded byWilberforce (1973)
Personal details
Bornc. October 1963
Isle of Man
Died (aged 16)
ResidenceHome Office
OccupationMouser

Peta[note 1] (born Manninagh KateDhu, c. October 1963 – 1980) was the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office, beginning her term in 1964 and retiring around 1976. She was the replacement of Peter III, who had died at the age of 16 in 1964. Peta served during the premierships of three prime ministers: Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson and Edward Heath. She died in 1980 after having retired to the home of a civil servant.

Early life and career

Manninagh KateDhu[1] was born around October 1963[note 2] on a farm on the Isle of Man; according to Douglas Kerruisch, the chief veterinary officer for the Isle of Man Board of Agriculture and Fisheries,[3] she caught "several mice" there.[4] After Peter III was euthanised in March 1964 following a liver infection,[5] the lieutenant governor of the Isle of Man, Ronald Garvey, suggested that a Manx cat be his replacement.[note 3][7][8] On 8 May 1964[note 4][9] Garvey flew Peta over to London from the Isle of Man and "ceremonially" handed her over to the home secretary, Henry Brooke, as a gift from the island's government, along with an illuminated pedigree chart;[3][10] selected photographers and reporters were allowed into the room to view the event.[11][12] Once she had arrived at the Home Office, she was renamed Peta in honour of her predecessors: Peter, Peter II, and Peter III.[13] She received a 5s per week living allowance from the Treasury as "a mouser",[note 5][14][15] but was noted to be lazy, loud, and not house trained.[13] Upon her arrival, she received fan mail from around the world, including letters from New York, Italy, and Fife.[2][16]

Later that month, she was given a penicillin injection to combat "a severe chill"; on 20 May she was said to be "on the mend".[17] By 29 May 1964 she had caught two mice.[18][19] During her time off work, Peta frequented Trafalgar Square.[20] In December 1964, Peta appeared on a Christmas card.[14][21] Home Office staff were told not to feed her morsels of food, as, by February 1967, Peta had become "inordinately fat";[22] that same year, she was accused of fighting with Harold Wilson's Siamese cat, Nemo.[23] When attempting to break up the fight, Mary Wilson was scratched on her arm by Nemo, contracting sepsis which caused her to miss a dinner with the Italian prime minister, Aldo Moro, being held that night.[24][25]

Retirement and death

By 1968[22] or 1969[13] some civil servants had attempted to remove Peta from the Home Office, but this did not happen due to the suspected bad publicity that this action would incur as Peta had gained "diplomatic status" because of her public arrival.[26] She was not mentioned in official records again, until a reply to a member of the public in 1976 revealed that she had retired to the home of a civil servant;[13] The National Archives records the end of her tenure as 1976.[27] Peta's successor was Wilberforce, who had become the chief mouser in 1973.[28] According to the National Archives, Peta died in or around the year 1980.[23]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Upon her arrival in London, she was renamed Peta in honour of her predecessors: Peter, Peter II and Peter III.
  2. ↑ In May 1964, she was stated as being seven months old.[2]
  3. ↑ Peta had previously served on the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries.[6]
  4. ↑ The National Archives states that the date Peta arrived was 7 May, but contemporary newspapers report the date as being 8 May.
  5. ↑ This was double what the previous mouser, Peter III, had received, at 2s 6d.[11]

Citations

  1. ↑ Coke, Hope (4 November 2022). "A Prime Minister's best friend!". Tatler. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Fan letters for Home Office cat". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 27 May 1964. p. 16. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Top cat Peta arrives at the Home Office". Liverpool Echo. 8 May 1964. p. 1. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  4. ↑ Richards, Denise (8 May 1964). "A killer signs on for £13 a year". Evening Standard. p. 16. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  5. ↑ "100 p.c. income rise for Home Office cat—and it's official". Liverpool Daily Post. 6 May 1964. p. 6. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "Top cat takes over tomorrow". Daily Mirror. 6 May 1964. p. 15. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  7. ↑ Campbell, Mel (19 May 2010). "'Miaow, Prime Minister': the bureaucats of Downing Street". Crikey. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  8. ↑ "Catastrophic". The Guardian Journal. 11 May 1964. p. 4. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  9. ↑ "Home Secretary greets new cat". Birmingham Post. 9 May 1964. p. 34. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  10. ↑ "Untitled". The Daily Telegraph. 9 May 1964. p. 18. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Peta gets VIP welcome". Daily Mirror. 9 May 1964. p. 3. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  12. ↑ Dawes, Frank (9 May 1964). "New Manx cat-in Manx". Daily Herald. p. 8. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Home Office cat history revealed". BBC News. 4 January 2005. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  14. 1 2 "This cat really earns its keep!". Heywood Advertiser. 12 November 1965. p. 11. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "Answers". Citizen. 16 May 1964. p. 8. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "Has your cat got a birth certificate". Kensington Post. 11 June 1965. p. 12. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  17. ↑ "Peta the cat is ill". Daily Mirror. 21 May 1964. p. 5. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  18. ↑ "Top cat and her fan mail". Derby Evening Telegraph. 29 May 1964. p. 3. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  19. ↑ "Top cat". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 30 May 1964. p. 4. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  20. ↑ "Half an hour playing ball keeps lonely cat happy at Christmas". Illustrated Chronicle. 3 December 1965. p. 4. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  21. ↑ "Christmas card which was sent to Peta the Home Office cat in 1964". The National Archives. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  22. 1 2 "Home Office fat cat was retired to the country". The Independent. 4 January 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  23. 1 2 Day, Chris (7 June 2016). "The bureaucats at the heart of government". The National Archives. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  24. ↑ Riley-Smith, Ben (27 December 2016). "Forget Larry and Palmerston, the original Number 10 cat rivalry revealed: Nelson vs The Munich Mouser". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  25. ↑ Ough, Tom (2 September 2019). "Sepsis, incontinence, and murder mysteries: a history of Downing Street pets". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  26. ↑ "Whiskers in the workplace: More cats with careers". BBC News. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  27. ↑ "The official Home Office cat". The National Archives. 4 January 2005. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  28. ↑ Langdon, Julia (20 May 1988). "Wilberforce is dead". Daily Mirror. p. 7. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
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