Chief Mouser of His Majesty's Government

Chief Mouser of HM Government
Incumbent Dude since 21 September 2024
10 Downing Street
Style	Chief Mouser of HM Government (formal) The Right Honourable (within the Empire)
Type	Minister of the Crown
Status	Secretary of State
Member of	Government
Reports to	The Prime Minister
Seat	10 Downing Street
Nominator	Prime Minister
Appointer	Prime Minister
Term length	At the Prime Minister's pleasure
Formation	29 October 2023
First holder	Cecil

The Chief Mouser of HM Government, more commonly referred to as the Chief Mouser, is the title of the official resident cat at 10 Downing Street, and is the most senior feline mouser position within the British political system. Since the office's creation in October 2023, there have been three Chief Mousers. The current Mouser is Dude, who assumed the office on the 21 September 2024.

History

The idea of introducing the position of Chief Mouser can be traced back to two individuals: the first is Llywellyn Evans-Jones, who advocated for the idea in passing while he was an Independent Backbencher MP in the early months of 2023. However, without a Government position nor the time to introduce an act, the idea remained dormant. The second was the incoming Secretary of State for the Home Office in September 2023, Thomas Carew (then known as Thomas Wright). He formally set up an election for the first Chief Mouser in October 2023, with the eventual winner being a ginger British longhair cat by the name of Cecil, nominated by Evans-Jones.

As a result, Cecil became the first Chief Mouser on the 29 October 2023, and served until the 3 January 2024 under two Prime Ministers: August Lleyton and William Somerset.

During this time, Carew introduced the Mousing Standards Act 2023 to the House of Commons, to regulate the election process and ensure fair and equal treatment for Mousers within HM Government. It also included provisions for other Mousing positions, such as the Ceremonial Mouser, Mouser of the Palace of Westminster, and Mousers for each respective Government Department.

Cecil officially retired on the 3 January 2024, an election having taken place and his successor, Tiff, took over the same day: a tuxedo British shorthair, Tiff was nominated by Carew. He served until his retirement on the 2 August 2024. Officially, he was the personal cat of Carew and his wife, Josephine: when the two left Downing Street, Tiff also retired and moved to Devon with them. While he has since returned twice when his owners have returned to Downing Street. Tiff has never served as Chief Mouser during those periods, only serving in unofficial capacities. Tiff served under three Prime Ministers: William Somerset, Thomas Carew, and Josephine Carew.

A short absence followed, before Dude, a ginger and white cat nominated by Tobias, The Prince Royal succeeded Tiff on the 21 September 2024, in the third election of its kind. He has served, at the time of writing, four Prime Ministers: Thomas Carew (twice), August Carew, Charles Wright, and Matthew Somerset.

List of Chief Mousers

Portrait	Chief Mouser	Term of Office			Prime Minister(s)
		Start	End	Duration
	Cecil British Longhair	29 October 2023	3 January 2024	73 days	August Lleyton William Somerset
	Tiff British "Tuxedo" Shorthair	3 January 2024	2 August 2024	213 days	William Somerset Thomas Carew Josephine Carew-Grey
	Dude British Shorthair (Ginger)	21 September 2024	Present	91 days	Thomas Carew August Carew Charles Wright Matthew Somerset