Eighteen-year-old Humphrey charmed the population of Great Britain from the moment he wandered up to the front door of No. 10 Downing Street in 1989.
When it became apparent that he was there to stay, someone in Prime Minister Margaret Thatchers staff named the cat Humphrey, after the character Sir Humphrey Appleby in the popular BBC television comedy Yes, Minister. He lived at No. 10 Downing Street for 8 years, during which time he was named Mouser to the Cabinet Office through the remainder of Thatchers term of office and throughout John Majors term.
In 1995, Humphrey perhaps grew tired of meeting politicians and heads of state at Downing Street and disappeared. He was discovered at the Royal Army Medical College a little over a mile away and soon returned to his mousing duties for the Prime Ministers office.
Shortly after Tony Blair was elected in 1997, Humphrey retired to the country at an undisclosed location, where he lived the rest of his days quietly, out of the public eye. British press reported that Humphrey died in his sleep in mid-March, having reached the impressive age of 18.
Posted: April 29, 2006, 5:00 a.m. EST