Last week was the 12th anniversary of the arrival of Larry the Cat to 10 Downing Street, the London residence and home office of the United Kingdom’s prime minister, where he was bestowed with the official title of “Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office.” He was brought to Downing Street in 2011, at the age of four, and tasked with controlling rats that had been seen at the residence. Though cats had been employed as chief mousers for centuries, Larry was the first to be given the official title. As a permanent resident, his term in office has overlapped with five prime ministers to date.
Larry the Cat’s 12 Years as Chief Mouser
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Larry, the 10 Downing Street cat, walks on the cabinet table wearing a British Union Jack bow tie ahead of the Downing Street street party, in central London, on April 28, 2011. #
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Kazuo Okamoto, the chief executive of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Europe, tries to pet Larry on February 8, 2018, while at Downing Street to attend a roundtable for Japanese investors. #
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A series of images shows Larry being gently encouraged to enter an opened door to 10 Downing Street, before a photo-call involving British Prime Minister David Cameron and the BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer, on June 9, 2011. #
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Larry looks on as British Prime Minister Liz Truss (center) and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pose for a photograph outside 10 Downing Street in central London on October 1, 2022. #
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