Larry the cat celebrates 15 years at Downing Street
In the ever-changing landscape of British politics, an unwavering presence with four legs, a moustache and a penchant for naps marks a significant turning point.
Larry the cat, the country’s official rodent catcher and unofficial first cat, celebrates 15 years in service this Sunday, providing reassuring stability under six prime ministers. In fact, some might argue that prime ministers serve under him.
“Larry the Cat’s approval ratings will be very high,” said Philip Howell, a Cambridge University professor who researches the history of human-animal relationships. “And prime ministers don’t tend to reach those numbers. He represents stability, and that’s very important.”
Larry’s remarkable journey has taken him from wandering the streets of London to the hallowed halls of 10 Downing Street, where he holds the prestigious title of chief of the Cabinet Office.
Adopted from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home by then Prime Minister David Cameron, Larry made his debut on 15 February 2011. As stated on the UK government website, their official duties include “welcoming guests to the house, inspecting security defences and testing antique furniture for snoozing quality”.
The grey-white tabby enjoys free rein and often takes the opportunity to outshine world leaders as they arrive at Downing Street’s iconic black door, much to the delight of news photographers. “He’s great at photo bombing,” said Justin Ng, a freelance photographer who has observed Larry over the years. “We know that if there is a foreign leader about to visit, he or she will show up at the exact moment the meet-and-greet is going to take place.”
Larry encountered numerous global figures who found themselves hovering around or above him from time to time. Although she was generally perceived as cold towards men, she was particularly fond of Barack Obama and made President Volodymyr Zelenskyy smile during one of the Ukrainian leader’s visits to London.
When US President Donald Trump visited in 2019, Larry missed the official doorstep photo opportunity and then decided to take a nap under the presidential armored vehicle “The Beast”.
Reports vary on Larry’s rodent-catching skills, but he was occasionally photographed with a mouse and once with a pigeon that eventually escaped. “He’s more of a lover than a fighter,” Ng joked. “He’s very good at what he does: going around and showing people that he’s actually very chill.”
Larry has shared his home, sometimes uneasily, with various prime ministerial pets, including Boris Johnson’s Jack Russell crossbreed Dilyn and Rishi Sunak’s labrador retriever Nova. Current Prime Minister Keir Starmer is kept separate from family cats JoJo and Prince, who reside in private residences, and Larry heads up their workspace in Downing Street.
He also maintained an unstable rivalry with Palmerston, the Foreign Office’s diplomatic chief across the street; The two were often caught bickering before Palmerston’s retirement in 2020. Palmerston sadly passed away this month in Bermuda, where he served as the governor’s “cat relations advisor.”
Now 18 or 19, Larry has slowed down a bit but continues to patrol his territory and nap on the windowsill above the radiator just inside door 10. He embodies Britain’s soft power like a cat, and any prime minister considering removal would face a serious public backlash. “A Prime Minister who hates cats seems like political suicide to me,” Howell said.
It emphasized Larry’s nonpartisan status as an “official pet” and distinguished him from American presidential pets, usually dogs, that leaders use to soften their images. “The fact that cats are less docile is part of the appeal,” Howell added. “He’s not a whimsical partisan in the political sense, but he tends to be sympathetic to some people and not to others, and he doesn’t have to sit where you want him to sit and pose where you want him to pose. There’s a certain kind of rebelliousness about Larry, and I think that would definitely endear him.”
