The new Prime Minister has made tackling corporate greed central to her mission, but the arrival of Gladstone the british cat as Whitehall’s third official mouser may have thrown a spanner in the works.
The black moggy is named after William Ewart Gladstone, who served as both Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister four times in the 19th century.
Gladstone makes the Treasury the latest department to employ a feline.
The Foreign Office recruited black-and-white rescue cat Palmerston in April to solve its own mouse problem. And Larry is usually spotted skulking around outside Downing Street.
Gladstone has his claws out to be the most-liked feline in Westminster.
Adopted from Battersea Dogs and Cats home, 18-month-old Gladstone will post messages and photos to his Instagram page, which launched on Friday morning.
In a post on his social media networks, the short-haired domestic cat said earlier he had been “settling into public life for a couple of weeks”.
Pawing his heart out to his modest 14 followers (number cat time of publishing) Gladstone also held up his paws and admitted his friends would describe him as “emotionally guarded,” as well as friendly and handsome.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “Gladstone absolutely loves his food and certainly isn’t fussy, he needs to be fed in moderation as he can be quite greedy… His food of choice would be Whiskas wet or dry and he’d never say no to a nibble on some cat nip.”
The British public can rest assured that the department responsible for the Budget won’t be extending austerity to pay for Gladstone’s Whiskas though. Staff at the Treasury will pool together to pay for his food and maintenance.
Christopher B. Taub
