Here’s a good headline from the NYT (click to read, or find it archived here). You may remember Palmerston, the the resident Chief Mouser of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) at Whitehall in London, who lived on Downing Street and often got into tiffs with Larry, the Chief Mouser of the Cabinet Office. Well, Palmerston, once rumored to have died, is very much alive, and has been transferred to Bermuda. Click to read, or find it archived here.
We interrupt this program for a special bulletin.
In a major government shake-up, Palmerston, the cat who left the British Foreign Office in 2020, will come out of retirement and take up a new posting working with the governor of Bermuda.
Palmerston stepped down from the Foreign Office in 2020. At the time of his retirement, he was said to have been looking forward to a more low-key lifestyle. Although there was talk of him writing his memoirs, he instead spent his time climbing trees. But the lure of service to crown and country seems to have been too strong.
“I’ve just started work as feline relations consultant (semi-retired) to the new Governor of Bermuda,” Palmerston wrote on X on Tuesday. “I’ve been busy meeting very welcoming Bermudians.”
Andrew Murdoch, who had served with Palmerston in the Foreign Office and had maintained a residence with him in retirement, was appointed to the governor’s role in September.
A black-and-white cat, Palmerston is named after Lord Palmerston, a two-time prime minister in the 1850s and ’60s. Lord Palmerston was known for promoting British nationalism and intervention. Palmerston is known for mousing.
As a rescue cat, Palmerston is of uncertain age, although he was reported to be roughly 2 years old when appointed in 2016. His relatively low profile in recent years had led to rumors of his demise.
Lord Simon McDonald, formerly the most senior civil servant at the foreign office, said the most frequent question he had received since leaving office was what had happened to Palmerston. “The answer — retirement to countryside — usually treated as euphemism for ‘He died.’” he wrote. “Now we have proof of life in Bermuda! Enjoy your latest assignment.”
Much as Palmerston’s eponymous prime minister could never get along with another prime minister, William Gladstone, Palmerston has had a longtime rivalry with Larry, the chief mouser at 10 Downing Street. Although many details remain murky, reports say that in 2016, Larry tried to enter the Foreign Office in London, leading Palmerston to claw him. Larry was injured enough to need veterinary treatment. Bitterness lingered.
Larry is currently serving under his sixth prime minister. With Palmerston now more than 3,000 miles away, their feud is likely to diminish, political analysts say.
This video shows Larry confronting Palmerston, but also chasing a fox and rejecting Liz Truss’s attempt to pet him:
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Here’s Jenn, who posts only good news, talking about Browser the Library Cat for Life (what a good name!), who kept his job after a curmudgeon tried to oust him.
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And The Kiffness with a great riff on a cat’s vocals: “Sometimes I’m Alone”. The cat is named George, as you’ll see at the end, and The Kiffness is on tour!
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Lagniappe: Two today! First, a cat misuses a store display.
— Meonk! (@majeliskucing) February 12, 2025
And wait! There’s more! The cat movie “Flow,” which I’ve mentioned before, has now been nominated for two Oscars. It’s for everyone, not just cat lovers, for it features adventures and many animals. You can read about it in the NYT below by clicking the headline, or find it archived here, and I’ve put the trailer below. SEE IT!
An excerpt:
“We beat James Cameron!” the filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis said with a shy smile during a recent video interview. “Flow,” his second animated feature, is now one of the highest grossing films ever in his native Latvia, surpassing even Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise at the local box office.
Latvia has a population of roughly 1.8 million people, and “Flow” has sold more than 255,000 admissions since it was first released in August 2024. The film is still playing in Latvian theaters.
“We still have sold-out screenings in week 23 now,” Zilbalodis, 30, said.
A critical and commercial success, Zilbalodis’s computer-animated, dialogue-free film follows a group of animals helping each other survive a flood. It received two Oscar nominations last month, for best animated feature and best international feature, and is the first Latvian production nominated for any Academy Award.
. . . . The “Flow” craze has reached far beyond Latvia. Here in the United States, the animated adventure, which opened in theaters in late November, has become the all-time highest-grossing release for the distributors Janus Films and Sideshow, bringing in $4 million so far.
“Flow” has received terrific ratings on Rotten Tomatoes: 97% from the critics and 98% from the public. You don’t see ratings like that for most movies, especially animated ones with no words!
The American Trailer:
h/t Michael, Laura
But the pooping cat is the display.
Browser the cat! Love that name. 🐈🐈🐈
Hooray for Browser and the library and its patrons! The councilman got just what he deserved!
“Flow” is truly a wonderful film. There were a few parts where I didn’t quite understand what was going on, but those parts became clear in the course of the story. Since there is no dialogue, one concentrates only on the action. May it win both Oscars for which it has been nominated–and many other awards as well.
What a fantastic Caturday. The Palmerston story is great and “Palmerston” is the best animal name since “Paddington”, the bear. Actually, “Browser” ain’t bad, either. Why can’t I ever think of really cool names when I have a pet in need of one? It must be the time of year, but Kiffness and his sometimes alone cat brought me to tears. Thank goodness for the pooping cat in the window display who got me laughing out loud — loudly! Man! I’m wiped out now. Perfect. Thank you.
Only four comments today. If you want Caturday to continue, let me know.
Caturday is a fantastic feature. More!
I have to check out more of The Kiffness’s work. There was some great harmony in that piece.
Flow was really great. None of my family fiddles with their phones or computers at all during the film.
Caturday and related cat items are why I came here when you first started. I stay for the cats and all that has been added since, as you are the only fairly moderated and enforced spot I would ever consider posting on. Long Live Caturday and Prof Celling Cat!