Rufus of England / Treasury Bill | |
|---|---|
| Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office | |
| In role 1924 – c. December 1930 Serving with Peter (1929–1930) | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | Ramsay MacDonald Stanley Baldwin |
| Preceded by | Postition established[note 1] |
| Succeeded by | Peter (1929) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | no later than 1924 |
| Died | no earlier than December 1930 |
| Residence(s) | HM Treasury 10 Downing Street |
| Occupation | Mouser |
Rufus (fl. 1924 – 1930), nicknamed Rufus of England[note 2] and Treasury Bill, was a cat owned by Ramsay MacDonald who fulfilled the function of chief mouser to the Cabinet Office, his term beginning in 1924 and ending around 1930.
Background
editLife and career
edit
Rufus was the cat of Ramsay MacDonald, prime minister for two terms in the 1920s and 1930s, and was "a renowned rat-catcher".[7][8] He had belonged to the permanent secretary to the Treasury, Warren Fisher's friend in Kent, but was given to the Treasury after she had repeatedly caught him hunting the birds in her garden. Upon his arrival, Fisher gave him the name Rufus.[9]
In 1924 he was moved from the Treasury to 10 Downing Street, and began his duties as the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office.[3] According to C. Patrick Thompson he was "sandy", "aloof", "testy" and "even an unfriendly sort of cat", but noted that he was "[t]he Terror of the mouse empire, the feline Attilla",[9] and a reporter from the Daily Mirror stated that he was "most ingratiating when we met".[10] Rufus was noted to bring the carcasses of the animals he had hunted to MacDonald; upon realising that they would be disposed of afterwards, he began instead bringing them directly to the bin.[3] He was nicknamed "Rufus of England"[11] and "Treasury Bill", the latter for "reasons presently to be explained".[9][12][13]
Rufus was given 2d per day, spent on fish, meat and milk, which was raised to 3d per day by the chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Snowden in March 1930, despite Snowden being "notoriously deficient in the milk of human kindness".[note 3] According to a story—which The Times stated "may be apocryphal"—Snowden was told by Treasury officials and Warren Fisher that Rufus was underfed; Snowden made a note to increase Rufus's pay via a vote in the Commons.[14][15] Another story has it that Snowden had been constructing the budget when he noticed Rufus in the room with him. Taken by the cat, he increased its pay.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).[16][6][17][18][19] In December 1930, the financial secretary to the Treasury, Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, was questioned in the House of Commons about Rufus's health. The Western Mail reported that Rufus "had an affliction under one ear and was obviously in no mouse-catching mood".[20]
References
editNotes
edit- ^ Rufus is the first for which there are reliable records, but there were other mousers before him. His successor, Peter, is also considered by some sources to be the first chief mouser, who resided at the Home Office instead and has the earliest record of an allowance for upkeep: 1d in 1929.[1][2][3][4]
- ^ Possibly also Rufus Rex,[5] although "Rufus Rex" was noted in 1928 to have been "only a kitten at Christmas" and still working at the Treasury rather than at Number 10.[6]
- ^ The idea was suggested to Snowden by the civil servant Maude Lawrence.[14]
Citations
edit- ^ "Home Office cat history revealed". BBC News. 4 January 2005. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Day, Chris; Whitworth, Carriane (29 March 2017). "Bureau-cats: A short history of Whitehall's official felines". The National Archives. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ a b c Ough, Tom (2 September 2019). "Sepsis, incontinence, and murder mysteries: a history of Downing Street pets". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ Campbell, Mel (19 May 2010). "'Miaow, Prime Minister': the bureaucats of Downing Street". Crikey. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Untitled". Somerset Guardian and Standard. 22 June 1928. p. 4. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Meet Rufus, Treasury cat". The Weekly Dispatch. 10 June 1928. p. 10. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ Molloy, Shannon (27 October 2019). "Meet Larry, chief mouser of the UK and perhaps the most powerful feline in the world". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Larry the cat joins David Cameron in Downing Street". BBC News. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ a b c Thompson, C. Patrick (18 May 1930). "The cat that looked at a Chancellor". Evening Star. pp. 81–82. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ "The cat that wants more". Daily Mirror. 19 November 1930. p. 4. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Larry the cat escapes Downing Street eviction". BBC News. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ Sommerlad, Joe (9 March 2021). "From Joe Biden's dogs to Larry the Downing Street cat, a guide to presidential pets". The Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ McDonagh, Melanie (20 February 2011). "The real route to popularity – if you want to get ahead, get a cat". The Independent. p. 37. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Puss gets a rise: official vote for the benefit of Treasury cat". Midland Counties Tribune. 30 May 1930. p. 10. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ Booth, Jenny; Malvern, Jack (16 February 2011). "Larry the No 10 ratter begins cutting on day one". The Times. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ "A bureau-cat—and other tales". Evening Standard. 18 November 1930. p. 16. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Good short stories". The Los Angeles Times. 13 July 1930. p. 18. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "Civil servant cats". Liverpool Post and Mercury. 27 May 1930. p. 8. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Rufus, the Treasury cat, wants more milk". The Kingston Whig-Standard. 10 January 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "The Treasury cat comedy". Western Mail. 13 December 1930. p. 6. Retrieved 2 July 2023.