Larry, chief mouser in Britain and long-time resident of the prime minister's official seat, can be seen outside the entrance to 10 Downing Street. Photo: dpa/Zuma Press Wire/Tayfun Salci
Some would say that Britain's beloved leader has everything you need in politics: A perfect sense of timing, plenty of assertiveness and is slow to make commitments and promises.
Larry the cat lives in Downing Street, the official residence of the British premier and he is busy training his sixth prime minister, since the election of Sir Keir Starmer, who replaced former prime minister Rishi Sunak this summer.
Prime ministers come and go, according to Larry, “chief mouser to the Cabinet Office", his account on X says.
Politics in Britain has been particularly turbulent in the last decade, coinciding with Larry's period in office. He has lived in Downing Street for 13.5 years – longer than any prime minister since the end of the 19th century, with only four prime ministers ever holding the office for longer.
Larry, a constant, furry presence, is reliably photogenic when pictured beside senior politicians and he wins over waiting journalists with his elegant poses and velvety paws.
Ex-premier David Cameron first brought Larry to central London, rescuing him from an animal shelter and installing him in the official residence in February 2011.
Back then, he wanted help in curbing a rat problem. Some say the “chief mouser” let his job slide after achieving some initial success. But he remained as popular as ever and held onto his job, serving under Cameron's successors Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Sunak.
Such is his fame that when rumours spread that his health might be suffering in autumn 2023, the government was quick to state that Larry was “happy and healthy”.
Irish PM Micheal Martin looking at Larry the cat as he leaves 10 Downing Street after a meeting with then British PM Liz Truss in 2022. Photo: dpa/PA Wire/Stefan Rousseau
As a public figure, Larry also has an unofficial account on the X platform with some 895,000 followers, far more than many members of the government.
His posts are often critical and satirical comments on current politics and the prime minister's statements, combined with pictures of Larry and cat memes.
He welcomed Starmer, saying, "Congratulations on your much deserved victory. Now, the important business of my meal times: I like breakfast at 10, lunch at 11, dinner at 3. And 5. And 7. Plenty of snacks in between. Get that right and the rest of your job is a doddle."
No one knows who is running the account but to anyone who reads the posts, it is clear that Larry is not a fan of the Conservatives. Many of his past posts took aim at Sunak, his temporary roommate.
But some have suggested Larry is not an excessively friendly character. If ex-premier Boris Johnson is to be believed, he is "a bit of a thug", a “Catzilla” who hunted down Johnson's dog for stealing his food. "The reprisals were terrible," Johnson claimed in a Daily Mail column."If you look closely at Larry, you can see that he is constructed like a sumo wrestler. He also has the talons of a velociraptor, and he is one of those cats who not only likes his food but also takes a dim view of anyone else who tries to scoff it," Johnson wrote.
Starmer himself has a cat, JoJo, and has since installed a catflap to give his pet access to the back garden.
Of the cat, Starmer has said, "As I'm sure a lot of parents will relate to, the cat gets the royal treatment in my house. I think my kids are probably nicer to Jojo than they are to me."
Meanwhile, columnists are already speculating on how JoJo is finding his new home.
"We cats are very territorial, but I’m keeping a sense of perspective. Larry might have moved here full-time, but I’m not planning on keeping my paws under the table for too long. Look at the last lot: Got a stonking majority five years ago and then got blown out of the water. Very fickle, the electorate. Much, in fact, like your average cat," journalist and author Virginia Blackburn wrote in the Express.
Change is afoot in Britain, it appears, and it is even reaching the animal kingdom. We can only wait to hear Larry's views on the latest developments. – dpa/Benedikt von Imhoff
