Fears Downing Street's Larry the Cat seriously unwell rubbished by insider

25 September 2023 , 05:25

952     0

Concern grew for Downing Street's most famous cat (Image: Steve Wood/REX/Shutterstock)

Larry the Cat - Downing Street's chief mouser is "happy and healthy," a government official has claimed amid concerns for his health.

The beloved feline, who has served throughout the premiership of five prime ministers at Number 10 Downing Street, had reportedly been unwell and, at the age of 16, concern had grown for its health. Many of the cat's 830,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter) have recently expressed their worry.

But today a Downing Street spokesman quashed the reports, insisting today Larry is healthy. The source told ITV News: "I would say he is happy and healthy."

Larry the cat has served throughout the leadership of five prime ministers (Getty Images)

The cat was initially adopted from Battersea in 2011 as a pet for David Cameron's children. He stayed on in his current, extremely important mouser role when Cameron stepped down in 2016 and has since served throughout the tenures of Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and now Rishi Sunak.

The Downing Street website says: "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."

Missing cat who secretly lived in London Underground lured after scary ordeal

Nevertheless, with his age in mind, The Sun reported "we must prepare for" Larry's demise - even if he is healthy at this moment in time. At 16, Larry would be a ripe 84 in human years, making him no spring chicken.

Such is Larry's popularity with the nation, Battersea saw a 15 per cent surge in cat adoptions after his introduction. Although it's understood he was brought on as a pet for David Cameron's children, he's currently looked after by Downing Street staff and doesn't belong to any of the PM's to have taken residence since. Having racked up more than 12 years in the job since, Larry is also one of Number 10's longest incumbents, beating the likes of Margaret Thatcher and William Gladstone.

Last year, brave Larry was filmed scrapping with a fox before chasing the intruder out of Downing Street. The mouser stood his ground as the feral visitor got a little too close to the residency of then PM Truss.

Bradley Jolly