貓生艱難！英國外交部捕鼠官被“制裁”，或因工作效率變低

Palmerston the cat has become a popular addition to the Foreign Office. But senior diplomats are concerned that he has become rather too well-loved.
貓咪帕默斯頓已經成爲英國外交部的紅“貓”。但外交部的領導們擔心他受到了過分關愛。

Staff have been asked to avoid giving the department's chief mouser tidbits to eat amid office rumors that he has become less effective at his job of catching mice.
外交部員工被禁止給帕默斯頓餵食，因爲部裏傳言，這位“捕鼠官”的工作效率變低了。

帕默斯頓本是一隻無家可歸的流浪貓，每天在倫敦街頭晃盪。後來被動物保護組織Battersea Dogs and Cats Home收養，再後來被英國外交部相中，2016年4月正式成爲外交部首席捕鼠官。

他的工作職責就是在外交部的大樓裏抓老鼠，讓外交大臣們有一個安心舒適的辦公環境。

帕默斯頓剛剛上任就獲得了超高人氣，BBC、Buzzfeed等外國媒體的記者都排着隊採訪他。

帕默斯頓甚至開始“學習”外語，與外國粉絲互動。

Palmerston explained on his social media account that like all good diplomats he was 'learning a new language to engage his followers.'
帕默斯頓在自己的社交媒體賬號上“解釋”稱，和其他優秀的外交官一樣，他正在“通過學習一門新語言來吸引粉絲”。

He then followed up in perfect Japanese: 'Hello, people of Japan! I wonder if there are any mice around (meow).'
隨後他用流利的日語“寫道”，“日本的朋友，你們好！不知道你們那裏有老鼠嗎？”

不過，要想坐穩外交部“捕鼠官”的位置，可不止拍拍照、撩撩粉這麼簡單，據英國《電訊報》30日報道：

A memo sent out to directors in the government department earlier this week asked them to ensure that the black-and-white tomcat was not fed by their staff.
本週早些時候，外交部領導發出的備忘錄要求他們確保外交部員工不再給這隻黑白相間的公貓餵食。

Sources suggested that while most staff had not noticed a change in Palmerston's waistline, senior management were keen to keep tabs on the cat's calorie intake, prompting speculation that his mousing skills had fallen below par.
有消息認爲，雖然大多數員工並沒有注意到帕默斯頓的腰圍有所改變，但高層管理人員卻密切注意這隻貓咪的卡路里攝入量，這令人懷疑帕默斯頓的捕鼠技能已經低於平均水平。

The office of the Permanent Under Secretary of State Sir Simon McDonald is in charge of the welfare of the sole feline member of Foreign Office staff.
作爲英國外交部唯一的貓咪僱員，帕默斯頓的福利待遇由外交部常務祕書西蒙•麥克唐納的辦公室管理。

They are keen to ensure he returns to his handler to be fed so they can keep on top of what exactly he is eating.
他們迫切希望能重新確保由帕默斯頓的管理者餵養他，這樣就可以確切掌握他的飲食情況。

A spokesman for the Foreign Office declined to comment but confirmed the message had been sent out to senior staff to pass on to their teams.
一位外交部發言人拒絕對此置評，但他確認外交部高層職員已經收到這份備忘錄，並通知各自的下屬。

Figures released in September last year under Freedom of Information laws revealed that the cat had been spotted catching 27 rodents since its arrival.
去年9月根據信息自由法公佈的數據顯示，自帕默斯頓入駐外交部以來，人們發現他共捕獲27只齧齒動物。

But the release also said the figure was likely to be an understatement as the cat was likely to have caught mice when staff were not watching.
但是公開文件也表示，這個數字很可能遠低於實際水平，因爲帕默斯頓很可能在工作人員沒有注意的時候抓住了老鼠。