'Politicians come and go': Larry the cat welcomes 7th prime minister

Larry the cat, the UK’s most famous feline, on Monday welcomed his seventh housemate at 10 Downing Street since he began patrolling the corridors of power more than 15 years ago.

“Politicians come and go; cats are permanent,” Larry’s X account @Number10cat posted, as the country’s chief mouser waited for incoming leader Andy Burnham to replace Keir Starmer.

In instructions to his new employers, he wrote: “Larry likes his breakfast at 9, brunch at 1030 and lunch at noon with plenty of snacks in between. The rest of the job is a doddle.”

Here are some things to know about the troubled office’s only purr-manent resident.

Humble roots

Recruited to deal with a rodent problem, Larry arrived at the prime minister’s official residence on February 15, 2011, when David Cameron was leader.

He was adopted from a London animal shelter when he was believed to be about four years old.

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.”

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

Larry dutifully shared the No. 10 residence with JoJo and Prince, the Starmer family cats, for the last two years.

His next guest might be trickier, with UK media noting that the Burnham family has a dog. It is unclear whether the pooch will be moving in.