英國外交部“捕鼠官”帕默斯頓曾因戰果累累獲好評，但最近外交部員工卻被禁止給它喂食，因為有人擔心帕默斯頓太受歡迎，吃成肥貓，導致捕鼠效率變低。

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為英國外交部的紅“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喂食，因為部里傳言，這位“捕鼠官”的工作效率變低了。

帕默斯頓本是一只無家可歸的流浪貓，每天在倫敦街頭晃蕩。后來被動物保護組織Battersea Dogs and Cats Home收養，再后來被英國外交部相中，2016年4月正式成為外交部首席捕鼠官。

他的工作職責就是在外交部的大樓里抓老鼠，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著隊采訪他。

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).'
隨后他用流利的日語“寫道”，“日本的朋友，你們好！不知道你們那里有老鼠嗎？”

不過，要想坐穩外交部“捕鼠官”的位置，可不止拍拍照、撩撩粉這么簡單，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.
本周早些時候，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只黑白相間的公貓喂食。

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.
有消息認為，雖然大多數員工并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只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于平均水平。

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.
作為英國外交部唯一的貓咪雇員，帕默斯頓的福利待遇由外交部常務秘書西蒙?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喂養他，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，并通知各自的下屬。

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布的數據顯示，自帕默斯頓入駐外交部以來，人們發現他共捕獲27只嚙齒動物。

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于實際水平，因為帕默斯頓很可能在工作人員沒有注意的時候抓住了老鼠。

此前，英國首相官邸的“捕鼠官”拉里就因“好吃懶做”而被“炒魷魚”。據《每日郵報》網站2012年報道，2011年走馬上任的“捕鼠官”拉里由于過于貪睡，玩忽職守，一年才捉到一只老鼠，被英國時任首相卡梅倫以玩忽職守為由“解雇”。由英國財政大臣喬治·奧斯本家的寵物貓弗雷亞接替拉里的職位。當然，為了避免給拉里帶來心理傷害，卡梅倫允許他繼續留在首相府中生活。

好在后來弗雷亞因為曾經走丟又出現，被懷疑是間諜，沒多久就被發配到鄉下，從此離開了唐寧街。拉里才又重回過去高枕無憂的日子。

英文來源：電訊報，每日郵報
編譯：董靜
審校：yaning