Humphrey (cat) - Start of Employment

Start of Employment

Humphrey was found as a stray by a Cabinet Office civil servant and named in honour of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the archetypal civil servant of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. After the death of the previous mouser, Wilberforce, in 1988 the Cabinet Office and Number 10 were in need of a replacement and so Humphrey began his work.

At a cost of about £100 a year (paid for from the Cabinet Office's budget), most of which went toward food, Humphrey was said to be of considerably better value than the Cabinet's professional pest controller, who charged £4,000 a year and is reported to have never caught a mouse. Frequently pictured posing by the famous Number 10 front door, Humphrey's primary duties involved catching mice and rats in the maze of Downing Street buildings. The poor quality of the buildings, some of which date from the 16th century, and the nearby St. James's Park ensure a continuous vermin problem. By the time of his retirement, Humphrey had risen to the position of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office.