Manninagh KateDhu, commonly known as Peta (1963/64 – early 1980), was the

Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office is the title of the official resident cat at 10 Downing Street, the residence and executive office of the prime minister of the United Kingdom in London. There has been a resident cat in the British government ...

of the United Kingdom government between 1964 and , and was the first female cat in that role. She became the replacement of Peter III, who had died at the age of 16 in 1964. After Peter III's death, the

Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man The Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man ( gv, Fo-chiannoort Vannin or ''Lhiass-chiannoort Vannin'') is the Lord of Mann's official personal representative in the Isle of Man. He has the power to grant royal assent and is styled "His Excellen ...

, Sir

Ronald Garvey Sir Ronald Herbert Garvey (4 July 1903, in Lincolnshire – 31 May 1991) was a British Colonial Service administrator who served in the Pacific, the West Indies, and as Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man at the end of his career. Biography ...

, suggested that a

Manx cat The Manx cat (, in earlier times often spelled Manks) is a breed of domestic cat (''Felis catus'') originating on the Isle of Man, with a naturally occurring mutation that shortens the tail. Many Manx have a small stub of a tail, but Manx cats a ...

be his replacement, and sent Peta to the Cabinet. She was noted to be lazy and loud, and not toilet trained. By 1969, some civil servants had tried to remove her from Cabinet, but this did not happen, because of the suspected bad publicity that this action would incur. She was not heard of again, until a reply to a member of the public in 1976 revealed that she had retired to the home of a civil servant. Her successor was Wilberforce, who became the next Chief Mouser in the 1970s.

References

1980 deaths Cats in the Isle of Man Individual cats in the United Kingdom Individual cats in politics Working cats {{feline-stub

See also

References