Let him eat duck

What is any self-respecting cat supposed to do in this heat? There was Palmerston, the Foreign Office’s resident moggie, lazing in the summer sun in Downing Street when along came a mother duck with her brood in tow. Palmerston, an opportunist like his 19th-century namesake, seized his chance and snatched a duckling for supper. He did what comes naturally, but is being traduced for evincing a vicious streak. It’s certainly easier than chasing mice, which is his main job. Whitehall-watchers searching for a metaphor might consider the activities of the government’s various felines to be somewhat more robust and committed than those of its ministers. Lord Palmerston took the view that countries do not have friends or allies, only interests.

The same outlook could be applied to cats.