New human, same food: Larry the Downing St cat welcomes 7th Prime Minister
Larry the cat, Britain’s most famous feline, has welcomed his seventh housemate at 10 Downing Street since he began patrolling the corridors of power more than 15 years ago.
As Larry awaited the arrival of incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the resident pet’s X page - @Number10cat - announced: “Politicians come and go; cats are permanent”.
And, in clear instructions to his new employers, Larry’s post added: “Larry likes his breakfast at 9am, brunch at 10.30am and lunch at noon with plenty of snacks in between. The rest of the job is a doddle.”
Recruited to deal with a rodent problem, Larry arrived at No.10 on February 15, 2011, when David Cameron was leader.
He was adopted from a London animal shelter when he was believed to be about 4.
Since then, the white-and-tabby cat, officially introduced on Downing Street’s website as the “Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office”, has reigned supreme from the country’s most photographed doorstep.
His official biography on the Downing Street website says that, apart from rodent control: “Larry spends his days greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences and testing antique furniture for napping quality.”
He has lived through six prime ministers, from Cameron to Sir Keir Starmer - and may be forgiven for not even noticing Liz Truss during her 49‑day whirlwind occupation.
Unlike some of Starmer’s Cabinet, Larry is set to keep his job under Burnham.
A media darling, Larry, who is now believed to be around 19, often steals the spotlight from visiting foreign leaders.
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In December, he was on the doorstep to greet the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Larry’s X account is followed by more than 900,000 fans.
Run by an anonymous user, Larry grumbles about getting caught in the rain and sometimes takes catty swipes, notably at Reform UK politicians and United States President Donald Trump.
His first months “in office” even inspired a book, The Larry Diaries, published in 2011.
Larry has also shown an elegance in office - having to share his space most recently with Starmer family cats JoJo and Prince.
His next guest might be trickier - Burnham has a bichon frise and poodle cross dog called Axel.
- AFP
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