Larry is the 10 Downing Street cat and is Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office. He is a brown and white tabby, believed to be born in January 2007. By July 2016, when Theresa May became Prime Minister, he had developed a reputation of being "violent" in his interactions with other local mousers, namely the Foreign Office 's much younger cat Palmerston.
Official duties
The Downing Street website describes Larry 's duties as " greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences, and testing antique furniture for napping quality". It says he is "contemplating a solution to the mouse occupancy of the house " and has told Downing Street that such a solution is still in the "tactical planning stage".Unlike his predecessors since 1929, Larry 's upkeep is funded by the staff of 10 Downing Street. Fund-raising events to pay for his food are believed to have included a quiz night for Downing Street staff held in the state rooms.
Arrival at Downing Street
Larry is a rescued stray cat from the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home who was chosen by Downing Street staff. Larry was intended to be a pet for the children of David and Samantha Cameron, and was described by Downing Street sources as a "good ratter" and as having "a high chase-drive and hunting instinct". In 2012, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home revealed that Larry 's popularity had resulted in a surge of 15% more people adopting cats.
Soon after he was taken in at Downing Street, a story ran in the press claiming that Larry was a lost cat and that the original owner had started a campaign to retrieve him.
