Cat Evicted From 10 Downing Street Dies

[IndianaGreen]

The wife of Britain's Prime Minister Cherie Blair holds Humphrey the cat in this image dated May 9, 1997. Humphrey, the Downing Street cat has died, Downing Street confirmed Sunday March 19 2006. Humphrey, the cat who shared 10 Downing Street with two British prime ministers, but was evicted by current resident Tony Blair. The black-and-white stray cat wandered into Downing Street in 1989 when it was occupied by then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and died aged about 18-years at the home of a civil servant who had adopted him after his eviction from Downing Steet. (AP Photo / Fiona Hanson, PA)

http://www.comcast.net/news/international/index.jsp?cat=INTERNATIONAL&fn=/2006/03/20/349411.html&cvqh=itn_cat

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Too bad the Brits haven't evicted the current strays in the house.

[tatertop]

3. I'll second that

[tatertop]

2. I think that cat wants to bite her little face

I'll bet the fur on that good boy was de-luxe

[IndianaGreen]

7. There was a picture showing the fear in Cherie's face

as she held Humphrey. She definitely had a phobia about cats!

Now that Humphrey has gone to his Heavenly reward, a well-deserved one at that, it is time for the Blairs to leave Number 10:

PM's future comes under scrutiny

Tony Blair should have known better, the Sun says as it reflects on what it calls the "cash for peerages rumpus".

The paper reckons it will be a strange twist if the PM "trips" up, nine years after coming to power partly because of disquiet over Tory "sleaze".

In an editorial "Nine years is long enough", the Guardian urges Mr Blair to leave office this year.

In most cases where he says he needs to finish a job, the paper says, the job is done or beyond his abilities.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4823906.stm

[WI_DEM]

4. Oh for a minute there I thought the poor thing was evicted to the

street but he was actually adopted and had a home and died of old age. Overall a pretty good life.

[LisaLynne]

5. I thought the same thing!

But, nope, the cat had a happy life. What a cutie.

[egadsbrain]

6. Liberate India! that would be India... the cat

they evacuated the White House on 9/11 and left her behind.

In his heyday, Humphrey appeared regularly in the media, and once narrowly avoiding being squashed under the wheels of former President Clinton's bulletproof car.
hmmmm, whatever happened to the Clinton's "evicted cat" Socks?

Rest in Peace Humphrey!

[LostinVA]

11. Clinton's secretary (Betty ???) adopted Socks...

[savemefromdumbya]

8. The cat will not be the only one who will be evicted from #10

won't be long til Tony Baloney will be evicted too

[dogday]

9. Ah, I hate dead kitty stories

[theHandpuppet]

10. Did the Blairs ever explain why the cat was evicted?

What a beautiful cat. I'm glad he at least found a loving home.

[IndianaGreen]

12. They denied being the reason the cat was moved

Here is more about Humphrey, there is a link to a video on the webpage:

The media were later invited to a South London property, where Humphrey was photographed, hostage-style, with copies of the day's newspapers.

He had also gone missing while John Major was in Downing Street.

At the time it was thought he had died.

But he returned after staff at a Westminster medical college read his obituary and realised the cat that had made his way into their building was, in fact, Humphrey.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4823834.stm

18 years is pretty long life for a cat!

[IndianaGreen]

13. Reuters: Humphrey, cat of British scandal, dies

The moral of the story, never trust a government that evicts a much beloved pet from his/her adopted home!

Humphrey, cat of British scandal, dies

Fur flew when stray was evicted from 10 Downing Street

Updated: 3:10 p.m. ET March 20, 2006

LONDON - Humphrey, a stray cat who wandered in to the official residence of Britain’s prime minister in 1989 and caused a scandal when he “retired” in 1997, has died, a spokesman for Tony Blair said on Monday.

The black and white one-time “mouser in chief” was perhaps the most famous pet in a country of animal worshippers.

“World of politics mourns a legend,” headlined the Sun, Britain’s largest circulation daily newspaper.

<snip>

The government finally arranged for press photos to prove Humphrey was still alive, saying he had gone to live with a civil servant to be treated for illness.

He was photographed, hostage-like, with copies of the day’s newspapers to show the pictures were fresh. Blair’s office issued a statement saying Cherie was sad to see him go.

It was not the only time Humphrey had been embroiled in scandal. In 1994 the government had to issue an official denial after the cat was accused of killing a family of robins.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11927714/