Nelson (chief mouser)
Nelson was a cat who served as Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office during the wartime coalition government under Winston Churchill.
Nelson | |
|---|---|
| Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office | |
| Held title 1940–1946 | |
| Monarch | George VI |
| Prime Minister | Winston Churchill |
| Preceded by | Munich Mouser |
| Succeeded by | Peter II |
| Personal details | |
| Residence(s) | Home Office |
| Occupation | Mouser |
A grey cat of undetermined lineage, Churchill first witnessed Nelson chase off a large dog from the Admiralty. Impressed by his bravery he adopted the cat, naming him after the British admiral Horatio Nelson.[1]
Upon Churchill becoming Prime Minister in May 1940, Nelson moved into 10 Downing Street and became Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office. Serving alongside the then-incumbent Munich Mouser.[2] Nelson and Munich Mouser did not take a liking to one another, with Nelson often chasing Munich Mouser out of 10 Downing Street.[3] The rivalry between the pair was later compared with that of Larry and Palmerston.[4]
References
- Reynolds, Q. (1964). Winston churchill. London: W. H. Allen. p. 148. ISBN 0-394-90556-3. OCLC 948770808.
- "Downing St. Cats Create Problem of Feline Protocol". The Washington Post. 7 June 1940.
- Day, Christopher. "Churchill's feline dynasties". The History Press. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Riley-Smith, Ben (2016-12-27). "Forget Larry and Palmerston, the original Number 10 cat rivalry revealed: Nelson vs The Munich Mouser". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
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