Palmerston, official cat of the UK foreign office, sports new collar

When Palmerston trotted out a new look, the world took notice.

Palmerston, of course, is the Chief Mouser to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at King Charles Street in London. The black-and-white tuxedo cat was first rescued from the city’s streets in 2016 by Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

The so-called diplocat’s rags to riches story has attracted quite a following.

So when Palmerston appeared online last week to celebrate Lunar New Year, style-watchers were stopped in their tracks.

They spotted a rather chunky accessory.

What is with that collar?

It’s not exactly house arrest.

But Palmerston is now essentially a four-legged GPS.

“I roam freely all over @foreignoffice, so this tracker collar helps my humans check in to make sure I’m safe, particularly at weekends,” the cat tweeted to his 78,000 followers yesterday.

Consider it business as usual.

After all, the country has a long history of “bureaucats.”

According to the National Archives, cats have been employed by the government since the 1800s “to preen, sleep and hunt in the corridors of power.”

“The government has been unofficially ‘employing’ cats since the mid 19th century – not as a forward thinking precursor of today’s therapy dogs – but for the far more gruesome task of ridding Westminster of mice and rats,” the archives explains.

It’s not clear how many rodents Palmerston has caught.

But he has met leaders from around the world, worn bow ties of all kinds and slept wherever — and however — he’s wanted.

Despite the fame, power and catnaps, Palmerston has never forgotten his roots.

And continues to fundraise for Battersea.

Photos @DiploMog/Twitter

About the author

Recovering newspaper reporter.

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