Humphrey is dood (Bloomberg Berig)

Humphrey, 10 Downing Street's Resident Cat, Dies, Sun Says 2006-03-20 05:31

By Toby Anderson March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Humphrey, the cat once resident atthe U.K. Prime Minister's home at 10 Downing Street, died aged18 at the home of a Cabinet office official, the Sun reported. The cat served three prime ministers: Margaret Thatcher,John Major and Tony Blair. Humphrey, who first wandered into No.10 as a stray in 1990, retired in 1997 amid reports PrimeMinister Tony Blair's wife Cherie considered cats unhygienic,the newspaper said. A spokesman said at the time Humphrey wassuffering from a kidney infection. A 120-page dossier on Humphrey was once covered by theOfficial Secrets Act, according to the report. It showed he hadnever fathered any kittens because he had been ``positively vetted.''

Humphrey was named after the wily civil service characterSir Humphrey Appleby portrayed in the British BroadcastingCorp.'s political television satire ``Yes, Minister,'' the Sunreported.
(The Sun 3-20 p.19)

For a list of news Web sites, click {NWEB }
--Editor: Peterson

Story illustration: for Humphrey's Web site, clickhttp://www.moggies.co.uk/html/humphrey.html

To contact the reporter on this story:Toby Anderson in London at (44) (20) 7673 2695 or tanderson7@bloomberg.net