Palmerston, Cat In The British Foreign Office Will Retire And Move To The Village

Palmerston, the cat of the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Palmerston, a cat who has lived for 4.5 years in the British Foreign Office, is about to retire from his job of catching mice for diplomats. He will move to the village.

In a tweet on Twitter which has more than 100,000 followers, the black and white cat said he wanted to spend time relaxing, away from the public eye.

Just seen news of Palmerston's retirement. I get it but ..... dammit we'll miss you @DiploMog. Thanks for the memories. 😍😭 pic.twitter.com/JbLa98XEuw

- Menna Rawlings (@MennaRawlings) August 7, 2020

"I've enjoyed climbing trees and patrolling the grounds around my new village home," he wrote to the most senior civil servant at the British Foreign Office, Simon McDonald, complete with the signature two cat paw prints.

"I will miss the sound of the ambassador's footsteps and run to the hideout to see who it is."

❗️Important news❗️ pic.twitter.com/PTEun74QYA

- Palmerston (@DiploMog) August 7, 2020

There is no other cat 'special staff' overhaul, as Palmerston's colleagues are still on guard in their respective places.

The cat named Larry still lives on Downing Street, while Gladstone also still serves as the cat in the finance ministry.

At the end of August this year, the Foreign Office's one and only @diplomog will be standing down in his post as Chief Mouser to begin a new life as a country cat. We'll all miss him paw-fully, but wish him a purr-fect retirement 😺 pic.twitter.com/v5lZurqHE7

- Foreign Office 🇬🇧 (@foreignoffice) August 7, 2020