My German papers report today that the cat that lived at 10 Downing
St. from 1989 to 1997 has passed away, according to official reports
from kidney problems.  (Cherie Blair threw him out, apparently, but he
received asylum with one of the Blair's employees.)  He was named
after Humphrey Appleby, a character in the British sitcom "Yes,
Minister".
I don't expect that there will be a state funeral, but I was wondering
if there will be a condolescence book in which Daisy and perhaps
Probono could record the G-A community's loss  - their own, too, of
course.

One article mentions that in the past in England a few cats have been
appointed to permanently salaried government office because of their
extraordinary skills as mousers.  Any confirmation of this from a
source not referring to Humphrey would also count as an answer to my
question.

Dear myoarin-ga,

Unfortunately I could find no reference to a condolences book for the
late departed Humphrey. If there is one, I am sure a guilty Cherie
would be at the front of queue.

Cats have indeed been employed at government departments. In 2005
under the Freedom of Information Act, a file was released detailing
the history of the Home Office cats. These news sources cover the
story and contain different snippets of information from the files.

?The Home Office cat, enrolled officially in 1929 and disestablished
in the early 1980s, brought life, poetry and a fluctuating enthusiasm
to the corridors of power. Four successive felines, all named Peter
for reasons lost in bureaucratic obscurity, were employed to prevent
mouse-chewed chits and rat-gnawed flimsies bedevilling the lives of
mandarins.?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/04/nfoi404.xml

http://www.guardian.co.uk/freedom/Story/0,,1382771,00.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4143423.stm

If you want to view the files yourself at the National Archives (in
person only) then this is the reference and details.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=1835842&CATLN=6&Highlight=&FullDetails=False

I hope this answers your question. If it does not, or the answer is
unclear, then please ask for clarification of this research before
rating the answer. I shall respond to the clarification request as
soon as I receive it.
Thank you
answerfinder


Search strategy
I seemed to recall a news article on this topic some time ago, so:
"cat" "home office"
://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=%22cat%22+%22home+office%22&btnG=Search&meta=
Search on National Archives
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Magnificent, Answerfinder!  I rather expected that you would be the one to answer.
And very quick.  I was surprised that the story hit the papers just
the day after the files were released.  I suspect someone on the
inside was just waiting to shove the file out to them.  And why did
one die of liver problems and Humphrey of kidney failure?  Sounds like
they were lapping out of beaurocrats' glasses of something stronger
than milk.
That rhyme of "etat" with "cat" was a bit bothering, but that is not your fault.

Thank you and have a nice day!  Myo

I DEMAND a State Funeral!

It would be yet another first for Tony's Mob and would probably
attract more interest than anything else he's done.

Also, until a Book of Condolences appears, please take this as the
signatures of Daisy and myself.

(Signed) Daisy

(Signed) Bryan

That's the spirit, Bryan.  I am glad that you and Daisy have your
hearts in the right place.
(Does this have anything to do with the decline and fall of the British Empire?)

Pity "The Times" is not the paper it used to be.  You could have
started a call for a State Funeral.

OH, I see that I can't spell.  Sorry.

Regards, Myo

Dear myo, 

Thank you for the tip.

I suspect the civil servant was a frustrated poet, but I?m afraid the
poem is so appalling that they never made it to be Poet Laureate to
the Queen - or the Home Office for that matter.

The National Archives often open new files at set times during the
year - particularly at the beginning of January. They give journalists
first peek at them.  At about this time the newspapers in the UK are
always full of articles about what is revealed in the archives.

answerfinder-ga