Covert Kitties

Not all state secrets are serious. In 1908, Dominion Archivist Arthur Doughty adopted three cats to control an infestation of mice in the archives building in Ottawa. He kept the whiskered watchmen a secret, to avoid embarrassing the government. This entry in Doughty’s letterbook is the only record of the cats’ employment. The original letter, enclosing receipts for the cats’ milk, has not survived.

Letterbook
Arthur Doughty, 1908
Ink on paper, leather binding
© Library and Archives Canada, e011309146

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