Larry the cat: Chief mouser who has fired six Prime Ministers

While British politics has seen constant changes over the years, one familiar face has remained at 10 Downing Street through it all, and it's not a politician. It is Larry the Cat.

Larry has been in residence since 15 February 2011; he is the first cat at Number 10 to be bestowed with the official title Chief Mouser.

According to Sir Anthony Seldon, Larry was recruited from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home on recommendation for his mousing skills. He joined the Number 10 household and has made a significant impact.

India Today, in its online publication, jokes that in a country that has witnessed enough political turbulence to keep constitutional experts permanently caffeinated, Larry has become Britain's most reliable institution.

“Since arriving at Downing Street from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in 2011, he has quietly outlasted six prime ministers, including David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer,” the article reads.

A media darling, now believed to be around 19, Larry, with an impressive survival record, often steals the spotlight from visiting foreign leaders.

Most employees would be thrilled to keep the same job for a decade. Larry has managed to keep the same address while watching an entire conveyor belt of national leaders cycle through Britain's top office.

Sir Seldon writes that Larry has captured the hearts of the Great British public, and the press teams often camp outside the front door. In turn, the nation sends him gifts and treats daily.

“Larry spends his days greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences and testing antique furniture for napping quality. His day-to-day responsibilities also include contemplating a solution to the mouse occupancy of the house. Larry says this is still ‘in tactical planning stage,” Seldon writes.

And on June 22, 2026, after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation, people quickly pointed out how Larry had now served under six different prime ministers and was preparing to welcome a 7th.

From David Cameron to Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, and now Keir Starmer, Larry has seen the arrivals and departures of many leaders. including David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and recently Keir Starmer.

India Today further notes that Larry has also witnessed Brexit battles, leadership contests, cabinet reshuffles and enough political scandals to fill several lifetimes, all while maintaining the air of someone mildly annoyed that humans continue interrupting his naps.

“Then there was Liz Truss's famously brief stint in office, which was so short that a lettuce became one of the most talked-about political commentators in Britain. Larry survived that, too,” an article by the publication reads.

Officially, Larry’s role remains pest control. Unofficially, he has evolved into 10 Downing Street's furry historian, chronicling Britain's political chaos one deadpan tweet at a time.

The publication argues that during every leadership transition, journalists inevitably turn their attention to the only resident whose position appears completely secure.

“As speculation swirls over who might occupy the Prime Minister's office next, Larry seems to have already established the criteria for the job: competence is nice, stability is welcome, but regular meal service remains non-negotiable,” the article notes.

In February this year, Larry marked 15 years as the country's chief mouser patrolling the corridors of power around number 10 Downing Street.

Here are four things to know about the purr-fect puss who, over the years, has charmed his way into the hearts of some of the world's top politicians.

Humble roots

Recruited to deal with a rodent problem, Larry arrived at the prime minister's official residence on February 15, 2011.

He was adopted from the renowned London animal shelter, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, when he was believed to be about four years old. David Cameron was the prime minister at the time.

Since then, the white and tabby cat, officially introduced on Downing Street's website as the "Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office", has reigned supreme from the country's most photographed doorstep.

His official biography on the Downing Street website says, apart from rodent control: "Larry spends his days greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences and testing antique furniture for napping quality."

Six prime ministers

He has lived through six prime ministers, from Cameron to Keir Starmer, weathered the storms of Brexit, Covid-19, the chaos of "partygate," Liz Truss's 49‑day whirlwind occupation, and the more orderly months under Rishi Sunak.

Nothing seems to ruffle his fur as this political veteran glides from crisis to crisis with feline calm and the lick of a paw.

In December 2025, he was on the doorstep to greet the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In January, he even sent a photographer stumbling on the red carpet after darting unexpectedly between his legs during a visit by Poland's president.

Cat-fluencer

A whiskered influencer, Larry also boasts an X account @Number10cat, followed by more than 893,000 followers.

Run by an anonymous user, Larry grumbles about getting caught in the rain and sometimes takes catty swipes at politicians, notably UK Reform and the administration of US President Donald Trump.

His first months "in office" even inspired a book, "The Larry Diaries", published in 2011.

Larry now shares the No. 10 residence with JoJo and Prince, the Starmer family cats.

Prince, a Siberian, joined the household in 2024 after "negotiations" with Starmer's children -- who had wanted a German Shepherd dog.

But there was a problem: "the only door out of our new flat is bomb proof," Starmer told the BBC in 2024. "Therefore, getting a cat flap is proving a little bit difficult."

Larry's fans can relax, though: he is considered a permanent civil servant, which means he gets to stay at Downing Street for good. Unlike prime ministers.

And when Starmer announced his exit, Larry posted, "I have accepted Keir Starmer's resignation as my chief servant and have invited Andy Burnham to lay out details for how many meals a day he'll give me.”

"I have accepted Keir Starmer's resignation as my chief servant and have invited Andy Burnham to lay out details for how many meals a day he'll give me" pic.twitter.com/7Ix95PMsN7 — Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) June 22, 2026

Famous felines

Larry is not alone in being a feline companion to politicians.

On Saturday came sad news that Palmerston, a black-and-white cat, once mouser to the Foreign Office and "Diplocat extraordinaire", had passed away in Bermuda, where he retired in 2020.

"Farewell, old friend x," Larry posted on his X account, brushing aside rumours of rivalry between the pair.

Under former US president Bill Clinton, the black-and-white cat Socks took up residence in the White House from 1993 to 2001.

Once a stray, Socks became the star of several books and was often featured by the UK cartoonist Steve Bell in his daily comic strips.

And in Belgium, a rescue cat named Maximus has shot to social media stardom as the bewhiskered sidekick and PR weapon of Prime Minister Bart De Wever.