Larry (cat) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Larry
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Official portrait, 2016
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| Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office | |
| Assumed role 15 February 2011 Serving with Freya (2012–2014)
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| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Sybil (2009) |
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| Born | c. January 2007 (age 18) London, England |
| Residences | 10 Downing Street, London |
| Occupation |
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| Awards | Blue plaque at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home (2012) |
Larry is a famous British tabby cat who has lived at 10 Downing Street in London since 2011. He holds a special job called Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office. This means he is the official mouse catcher for the Prime Minister's home and office. Larry is cared for by the staff at Downing Street. He is not owned by the Prime Minister.
Larry has seen six different Prime Ministers live at 10 Downing Street. These include David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, and Keir Starmer. The government website says Larry is the first cat to officially have the title of Chief Mouser.
Contents
Larry's Early Life
Larry was born as a stray around January 2007. He was later taken to the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, which is a shelter for animals. In 2011, the staff at Downing Street adopted him. He was first meant to be a pet for Prime Minister Cameron's children.
People at Downing Street said Larry was good at catching rats. They also noted he had a strong desire to chase and hunt. In 2012, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home said Larry's fame helped more cats get adopted. Cat adoptions went up by 15% because of him.
Soon after Larry moved in, a story spread that he was a lost cat. It claimed his original owner wanted him back. But this story was later found to be untrue. There was no such owner or campaign.
Larry's Important Job
Official Duties of the Chief Mouser
The Downing Street website describes Larry's job. He greets important guests who visit the house. He also checks the security of the building. Another important duty is testing the old furniture for how good it is for napping.
The website also jokes that Larry is thinking about how to solve the mouse problem. He has told staff that his plan is still in the "tactical planning stage." Unlike other Chief Mousers before him, Larry's care is paid for by staff members. It does not cost the government any money. Staff have even held events, like a quiz night, to raise money for his food.
In 2016, David Cameron explained that Larry is a civil servant. This means he works for the government, not for the Prime Minister personally. So, Larry stayed at Downing Street when Cameron left office. Larry has kept his job through the time of Prime Ministers May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak, and Starmer.
Larry's Work as a Mouser
When Larry first arrived, some people said he wasn't very good at catching mice. They said he spent more time sleeping than hunting. In 2011, mice were such a big problem that Prime Minister Cameron once threw a fork at one during dinner. Because he didn't catch many mice at first, the newspapers called him "Lazy Larry."
Larry made his first known mouse kill on April 22, 2011. On August 28, 2012, he caught a mouse in public. He dropped it on the lawn in front of Number 10. In September 2012, another cat named Freya also became a Chief Mouser. In October 2013, Larry caught four mice in just two weeks. One staff member even saved a mouse from him.
In July 2015, two government officials, George Osborne and Matt Hancock, trapped a mouse in an office. They caught it in a paper bag. The news joked that Osborne might take over Larry's job.
Larry's Health
In September 2023, a newspaper reported that Larry had been sick. It said Downing Street staff were getting ready for his death. But Downing Street quickly said this was not true. They said Larry was "happy and healthy."
In August 2024, it was reported that staff had started making plans for how to tell the public if Larry passed away. However, they also said Larry was still doing very well.
Larry's Public Image
Before the 2024 general election, a survey showed that Larry was very popular. More people liked Larry than either Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer. Larry had a 44% favourability rating.
Larry's Relationships with People
David Cameron once said that Larry was "a bit nervous" around men. He thought this might be because Larry was a rescue cat and had bad experiences before. But Cameron noted that Larry seemed to like Barack Obama. Obama petted him, and Larry was fine with him.
In September 2013, there were reports of problems between Cameron and Larry. It was said that Cameron didn't like cat hair on his suits. Also, the smell of cat food had to be covered up with air freshener when visitors came. Some thought the Camerons didn't really like Larry. They believed Larry was just there to make Cameron look good to the public. Cameron posted on Twitter that he and Larry got along "purr-fectly well."
When Cameron left office in 2016, he said he was sad he couldn't take Larry with him. When Theresa May became Prime Minister, some worried Larry was stressed. They thought he might miss the Cameron family.
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In June 2019, Larry was seen on the window ledge outside 10 Downing Street. This happened while Theresa May and her husband posed with US President Donald Trump and his wife. Larry later hid from the rain under Trump's car. It took some time to get him out.
Prime Minister Liz Truss told a journalist in September 2022 that Larry was "doing a great job." But she also said he spent "rather a lot of his time asleep."
In May 2024, Prime Minister Sunak announced a general election in the pouring rain. Larry was seen on the live TV feed waiting patiently to get back inside Number 10. While Sunak got very wet, Larry seemed to have stayed dry.
Larry had a short meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in October 2024. He also met the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in 2025.
Larry's Relationships with Other Animals
In June 2012, George Osborne, who was in charge of the country's money, found his long-lost cat, Freya. Freya moved into 11 Downing Street, next door. Freya and Larry were said to get along well, but they were also seen fighting sometimes. Freya was thought to be the stronger cat and better at catching mice. This was because she had been a stray cat. In November 2014, Freya left Downing Street. This left Larry as the only Chief Mouser.
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In September 2019, a new dog named Dilyn came to stay at Downing Street. Dilyn belonged to Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds. In December 2020, Larry chased a pigeon outside Boris Johnson's home. He even caught it for a moment. But the pigeon managed to fly away, seemingly unharmed. In October 2022, Larry chased a fox away from 10 Downing Street. The fox was almost twice his size! This was caught on camera.
In June 2021, Rishi Sunak, who was then in charge of the country's money, got a puppy named Nova. Nova lived at 11 Downing Street. In September 2023, Sunak's wife said that Larry and Nova had "heated exchanges." She said Larry always won these arguments.
In April 2024, Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition, said his family had a rescue cat named Jojo. It was expected that Jojo would also live at Number 10 if Starmer became Prime Minister. A cat charity offered advice on how Larry and Jojo could get along. In September 2024, it was revealed that another cat, a Siberian kitten, had joined the Starmer household. The kitten's name is Prince, and he is white with blue eyes.
Rivalry with Palmerston
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In April 2016, a new cat named Palmerston moved into the Foreign Office, which is nearby. Larry and Palmerston were known to get along sometimes, but they also fought many times. In July of that year, Palmerston even got into Number 10. Security staff had to make him leave.
In September 2016, a question was asked in Parliament. It asked why the government didn't pay Larry's vet bill for an injury he got fighting Palmerston. A government spokesperson said that staff paid for Larry's care themselves. They did this because they loved Larry.
On August 1, 2016, Larry had his "most brutal fight yet" with Palmerston. This happened on the steps of Number 10. Larry lost his collar, and Palmerston got several deep scratches and a cut ear. When Palmerston "wrote" a letter saying he was retiring in August 2020, the news said his fights with Larry probably didn't make him leave sooner.
Awards and Recognition
Larry was given a special award called a blue plaque at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in October 2012. This plaque honors important people or animals. A type of beetle, first found in 2021, was even named after him: Caccothryptus larryi.
See also
In Spanish: Larry (gato) para niños
- Gladstone – Chief Mouser of HM Treasury
- List of individual cats
