Caturday felid trifecta: British Foreign Office hires Chief Mouser, lynx pwns wolf in rare encounter, puking cat salsa/gravy dispenser

As usual, we have three cat-releated items today, the first including the announcement from the BBC that the foreign office has employed a Chief Mouser named Palmerston. (There’s already a Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, Larry, at 10 Downing Street, but his mousing abilities are horrible. He is cute, though.

As with Larry, Palmerston came from the Battersea Dogs and Cat home, and the Foreign Office sent out a nice notice of his hiring:

Palmerston will be living at one of the country’s most famous addresses among the UK’s top diplomats and ministers.

Foreign Office bosses has been quick to point out he will be no burden on the taxpayer.

“Palmerston’s domestic posting will have zero cost to the public purrse as a staff kitty will be used to pay for him and all aspects of his welfur.”

. .  “Palmerston is HM Diplomatic Service’s newest arrival and in the role of FCO Chief Mouser will assist our pest controllers in keeping down the number of mice in our King Charles Street building.

“We have worked closely with Battersea Dogs and Cats Home on Palmerston’s deployment and they have inspected his new home, as they do for all pawtential new owners of their rescue cats.”

The two year old domestic short hair was found wandering the streets of London. He was hungry, underweight, and had no microchip, meaning his previous owners could not be traced.

Battersea’s Head of Catteries, Lindsey Quinlan told Newsbeat: “”He’s a very confident cat, loves being with people, and enjoys a good chin rub.

“If his behaviour at Battersea is anything to go by, we predict Palmerston will be a formidable feline, very deserving of his new name.”

You can read an interview with Palmerston at BuzzFeed, and there’s also a report on the BBC Newshour.  Reader “j.j.” notes this about the BBC piece:

What makes this report noteworthy beyond other reports I’ve heard is that Lindsey Quinlan, head of the Battersea Catteries (what a job!) is interviewed about Palmerston’s history and the work at the Battersea cat rescue center (dogs, too).  They actually do hire out cats as mousers — not just any rescued cat, they vet them for the job.

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As reported by the World Wildlife Fund, which posted this video, we see a rare encounter between a gray wolf (Canis lupus) and a Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), both endangered and protected in Europe:

The video shows the “wild ancestors” of our dogs and cats meeting together in the snowy forests of the Carpathian Mountains in Poland. It was produced by the biologist and video-photographer Zenek Wojtas, who commented on this unique encounter saying:

“Observing wild lynx and wolves in their natural habitat is extremely difficult and rare. I often spend months in freezing conditions to see animals in nature. This encounter is unique as it gives us an insight into the harmony that exists in nature, where predators can live in the same habitat without harming each other. As the wolf slowly walked towards the female lynx, she arched her back to protect her kittens, as all mothers would do. It was not a fight, the wolf only wanted to play.”

Of course the cat pwns the d*g!!!:

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Finally, don’t you think you need one of these food dispensers? Imagine how much it can liven up your next dinner party! Sadly, they appear to be sold out for good.

h/t: Pyers, j.j., Sergio, jsp