Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom, Larry was filmed chasing a fox off Downing Street, on Monday.
In a video by Sky News, Larry, who was rescued from the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home during David Cameron’s administration, seems to have channelled his stray nature to defeat a fox twice its size.
The video captures Larry intimidating the fox off the street and into the bush.
No mousin’ around for Larry🐱
Watch the moment Downing Street’s chief mouser, was spotted chasing off a fox outside Number 10 🦊
Today’s top stories 👉 https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3 pic.twitter.com/3M85zrrC8x
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 11, 2022
The 15-year-old tabby has developed a reputation for being “violent” and was frequently seen sparring with Palmerston, the Foreign Office’s Mouser.
In September 2016, Lord Blencathra submitted a question in the House of Lords asking why the government did not pay for Larry’s veterinary bill for an injury picked up in a fight against Palmerston, and whether the government would refund civil servants who paid for Larry’s care. Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen, the government’s spokesman in the Lords, said: “The costs were met by staff through voluntary staff donations due to their affection for Larry.”
Drama at Downing Street this morning – Larry the cat has a face off with Palmerston from the Foreign Office. Fur and collar ripped off in the cat fight. @GMB pic.twitter.com/xGWUwZwlmO
— Nick Dixon (@NickDixonITV) February 16, 2018
Unlike his predecessors, 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.
Now serving his fourth Prime Minister, Larry has been in residence at Downing Street since 15 February 2011 and was the first cat at No 10 to be officially bestowed with the title Chief Mouser.
“Larry spends his days greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences and testing antique furniture for napping quality,” the Downing Street website says. “His day-to-day responsibilities also include contemplating a solution to the mouse occupancy of the house.”
Evidence of a cat in residence in the English government dates back to the reign of Henry VIII when Cardinal Thomas Wolsey placed his cat by his side while acting as Lord Chancellor.
Official records which go as back as June 3 1929, show that A.E. Banham at the Treasury authorised the Office Keeper “to spend 1d a day from petty cash towards the maintenance of an efficient cat.”
Criticism
Larry has been criticised for both his temperament and job performance.
According to the BBC, at one point in 2011, mice were so endemic in Downing Street that the Prime Minister, David Cameron, resorted to throwing a fork at one during a Cabinet dinner.
Larry was reportedly almost fired from his position in 2012 when he failed to react to a mouse spotted in Cameron’s study. His lack of killer instinct also earned him the nickname “Lazy Larry” by the tabloid press.
