Army of cats to solve British Parliament's rodent problem

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Press Trust of India London
Last Updated : Jan 28 2014 | 8:44 PM IST
An army of cats are poised to descend on Westminster Palace to help rid the British Parliament of vermin.
Battersea Cats and Dogs Home have drawn up a list of their top mousers that could help solve Parliament's pest problem after yet another MP complained about mice.
A spokesperson told The Independent that they as many as 160 cats available.
For those who work in Parliament, sightings of mouse colonies are common and MPs have reported mounds of droppings as well as nibbled corners on official documents.
"Battersea Dogs & Cats Home do a fantastic job, and I would certainly love to have one of their cats come and take care of the mouse problem in my office," Pauline Latham, MP for Mid Derbyshire, said.
Westminster already has two cats - Larry, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office and Freya, who is George Osborne's cat.
The two cats first hit headlines in October 2012, when Freya and Larry were pictured fighting on the steps of Downing Street.
According to reports, Freya is very much the dominant cat, far more proficient in mousing, a legacy from her days on the streets. Larry in comparison is far lazier and in September Downing Street were forced to deny that David Cameron dislikes Larry.
With troubles at the top, it is perhaps only a matter of time before there will be a new set of whiskers prowling the green benches. Battersea has suggested three possible candidates: Jill, Finn and Bloom.
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First Published: Jan 28 2014 | 8:44 PM IST

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