Wilberforce ( – 19 May 1988) was a cat living at

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...

who was employed as the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office from 1973 to 1987. He served during the premierships of four prime ministers:

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...

and

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

. In obituaries published shortly after his death he was described as the "best mouser in Britain".

Early life and career

Wilberforce was an eight-week-old white tabby kitten when adopted from the

Hounslow Hounslow ( ) is a large suburban district of West London, England, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 14 metropolitan cen ...

branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

of the

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

in 1973. He was appointed the Downing Street

office manager Office management is a profession involving the design, implementation, evaluation, and maintenance of the process of work within an office or other organization, in order to sustain and improve efficiency and productivity. Office management is ...

's cat to deal with a mouse infestation, and given a living allowance. He was named ''Wilberforce'' in honour of the English

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...

. Downing Street staff would reply to mail sent to him "wanting to know how he was, ishinghim luck". Despite his role as chief mouser to the Cabinet Office, he rarely visited the Cabinet room, instead preferring the

Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the es ...

, 11 Downing Street and the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

. According to Bernard Ingham, the former

Downing Street press secretary The Downing Street Press Secretary is an adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on news media and how to manage the image of the British government to the press. The position is part of the Prime Minister's Office and involves using ...

, the prime minister

once bought Wilberforce "a tin of sardines in a Moscow supermarket", because, according to ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', "there was nothing else to buy". Wilberforce would regularly sleep on and under Ingham's desk, which irritated Ingham because of his

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

. When resident ducks from nearby

St James's Park St James's Park is a urban park in the City of Westminster, central London. A Royal Park, it is at the southernmost end of the St James's area, which was named after a once isolated medieval hospital dedicated to St James the Less, now the ...

had eggs that were about to hatch Thatcher "made sure he ilberforcewas kept out of the way". During the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's coverage of the 1983 general election Esther Rantzen held Wilberforce and introduced him to viewers. Noting his longevity, in 1985 the ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marked ...

'' stated that Wilberforce "seem dto go on forever"; in December 1986, anticipating the 1987 general election, the '' Lincolnshire Echo'' said this of Wilberforce:

Retirement and death

Wilberforce retired on 3 April 1987 after fourteen years of service under four different prime ministers. He went to live in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

with a retired caretaker from Number 10; before his departure, Thatcher gave Wilberforce a leaving gift. He died in his sleep on 19 May 1988, aged 15. Upon his death,

, who was in Tokyo at the time, said that he was "very sorry that the longest resident has died".

, who had been "extremely fond" of Wilberforce, expressed his regrets;

's wife Audrey was reportedly "shocked". Thatcher was given the news of his death at the end of the daily Cabinet meeting, and stated that she was "very sad". In various newspaper stories and obituaries covering his death, Wilberforce was described as the "best mouser in Britain". He was buried near his retirement home.

Early life and career

Retirement and death

See also

References

Notes

Citations

Further reading