Larry behind the camera
(Picture: PA)On February 15, 2011, 10 Downing Street welcomed a new tenant: Larry the cat.
Then a four-year-old stray picked up by former Prime Minister David Cameron from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Larry is now onto his fourth Prime Minister, Liz Truss.
He doesn’t seem interested in the new PM, after being pictured looking away moodily in the opposite direction several times.
Officially known as the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, Larry's duties include ridding number 10 of rodents, something he learned to do during his time as a stray.
Other daily duties include greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences, and testing antique furniture for napping quality.
The chief mouser was recently caught in action in a viral video that has been shared online by Sky News, where Larry can be seen stalking a fox who prowls on the famous street and chases it down the street.
Larry the cat has been spotted chasing off a fox from Downing Street 🐱🦊
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 10, 2022
Today's top stories: https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3 pic.twitter.com/TvgxC0z5Zr
Larry seemed quite proud of his achievement.
According to Larry's official description on the 10 Downing Street government page, he is also in the process of "contemplating a solution to the mouse occupancy of the house. Larry says this is still ‘in tactical planning stage’.”
Larry isn't the only cat of Westminster, his neighbours include Palmerston, the Foreign Office cat; Gladstone, the Treasury cat; and Evie and Ossie, the Cabinet Office cats.
Several fights between Palmerston and Larry have broken out over the years, one particularly vicious scrap kicked off in 2016 resulting in Larry's collar being ripped off.
