Palmerston was born in 2014. He was from
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and was named after the former Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister
Lord Palmerston. In 2016 he began working as Chief Mouser of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) at
Whitehall in London, and was employed at the King Charles Street building. The inception of the position of Chief Mouser at the FCO followed from the position
Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office,
Larry, and from visits from
George Osborne's cat
Freya who made regular visits to the office. Palmerston was in the news on 3 May 2016, as it was reported that he had caught his first mouse. On 11 July 2016, Palmerston was caught on camera in a stand-off between himself and Larry in and around Downing Street. On 26 July 2016, Palmerston was caught sneaking into
Number 10, when the black door was left open. He was later evicted by resident police. On 1 August 2016, a journalist caught Palmerston and Larry having a serious cat-fight, which led to Palmerston having damage to his ear and Larry losing his
collar. On 7 August 2020, Palmerston retired as the FCO's Chief Mouser, moving to the countryside to "spend more time relaxing away from the limelight"; his "resignation" was announced on
Twitter. On 3 February 2025, it was reported that Palmerston had come out of retirement to take up a role in
Bermuda as "feline relations consultant" to the new
Governor of Bermuda,
Andrew Murdoch, who had owned Palmerston since his retirement. Palmerston died on 12 February 2026. == See also ==