Larry the Cat Celebrates 15 Years at 10 Downing Street

While Prime Ministers come and go, one resident of 10 Downing Street has proven utterly unshakable: Larry the cat, who celebrates 15 years on the job this Sunday.

The white and tabby feline arrived at the Prime Minister's official residence on February 15, 2011, recruited from London's Battersea Dogs and Cats Home to tackle a rodent problem. David Cameron was in charge back then, and Larry was believed to be about four years old.

Since then, this political veteran has lived through six Prime Ministers, Brexit, Covid-19, and countless government crises. Nothing ruffles his fur as he glides from one political storm to another with signature feline calm.

His official title is Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, but Larry's duties extend far beyond pest control. According to his Downing Street biography, he spends his days greeting guests, inspecting security defenses, and testing antique furniture for napping quality.

Now believed to be around 19 years old, Larry has become a media darling who regularly steals the spotlight from visiting foreign leaders. In December, he greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the doorstep. In January, he sent a photographer stumbling after darting between his legs during Poland's President's visit.

Larry's influence extends beyond the physical doorstep. His X account boasts over 877,500 followers, where an anonymous handler shares his grumbles about rainy weather and occasional catty swipes at politicians.

Sunny's Take

What makes Larry so beloved isn't just his longevity or his photogenic face. He represents something rare in politics: constancy. While governments rise and fall, Larry remains a comforting presence, reminding everyone that some things stay steady even when everything else changes.

He's officially considered a permanent civil servant, which means he gets to stay at Downing Street for good. Unlike Prime Ministers, as fans love to point out.

Larry now shares the residence with JoJo and Prince, the Starmer family cats. The trio navigates life behind a bomb-proof door that makes installing a cat flap rather complicated, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer explained to the BBC.

Other political cats have made their mark too, from Palmerston at the Foreign Office (who recently passed away in retirement) to Socks at the Clinton White House to Belgium's social media star Maximus. But Larry remains the gold standard for political felines.

Fifteen years of service deserves celebration, and Larry's fans worldwide are doing just that for a cat who proves that sometimes the best leaders have four legs and whiskers.