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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Read moreLarry, 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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Read moreBritish Prime Minister David Cameron introduces U.S. President Barack Obama to Larry on May 25, 2011. #
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Read moreLarry is photographed while sunning himself on Downing Street on July 10, 2019. #
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Read moreKazuo 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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Read moreA close portrait of Larry, in Downing Street, photographed on September 9, 2020 #
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Read moreLarry the cat comes face-to-face with a police dog named Bailey during security checks outside the door of 10 Downing Street, on March 30, 2015. #
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Read moreLarry relaxes in the sunshine in the press enclosure at Downing Street on a warm day, July 16, 2014. #
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Read moreA police officer strokes Larry the cat at Downing Street on July 8, 2022. #
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Read moreMedia members photograph Larry the cat outside 10 Downing Street on June 11, 2019. #
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Read moreA 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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Read moreLarry looks out a window at 10 Downing Street on February 15, 2011. #
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Read moreLarry chases a pigeon on August 6, 2019, in London. #
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Read moreLarry sits with press photographers as they work at Downing Street on December 9, 2020. #
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Read moreSchoolchildren approach Larry the cat on August 30, 2019. #
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Read moreA visitor to Downing Street gets scratched as she tries to pet Larry, on July 21, 2019. #
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Read moreLarry 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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Read moreLarry the cat sits among spring blooms at Downing Street on April 19, 2022. #
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Read moreLarry is carried into 10 Downing Street on May 24, 2019. #
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Read moreLarry looks out from a ground-floor window on June 20, 2018. #
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