Larry the Cat Marks 15 Years as Downing Street's Chief Mouser, Serving Six Prime Ministers

Larry, the grey-and-white tabby widely known as Britain’s Chief Mouser, is marking 15 years at 10 Downing Street on Feb. 15, 2026.

“Larry the Cat, the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, again stole the spotlight at 10 Downing Street when he photobombed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a Dec”

ABP Live English

He was adopted from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in February 2011.

ABP Live English

Multiple outlets frame the milestone as both a simple anniversary and a symbol of continuity.

The Associated Press calls him “a popular symbol of continuity and stability,” and The Hindu and The Sun Malaysia report the same Feb. 15, 2011 arrival and the 15-year mark.

The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel and iNFOnews.ca note that the Associated Press assembled a photo gallery documenting his tenure and steady presence through political change.

Officially titled 'Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office,' Larry’s duties are variously described across sources as controlling rodents, greeting visitors, inspecting security and 'testing' furniture for naps.

News18 quotes Downing Street’s phrase about 'testing antique furniture for napping quality,' while Radio News Hub and the Associated Press stress his nominal role in rodent control alongside the cat’s broader symbolic value.

Advertiser and Times

Several outlets — Philstar, The Peninsula Qatar and Malay Mail — additionally note that Larry is treated as a 'permanent civil servant' allowed to remain at No. 10 irrespective of which prime minister occupies the flat.

Across outlets, Larry’s long tenure is measured by the six prime ministers he has outlasted, typically listed as David Cameron through Keir Starmer.

“Larry the cat is marking 15 years as Britain’s Chief Mouser at 10 Downing Street, a symbol of stability in turbulent political times”

Associated Press

News18, The Mirror, The Sun Malaysia and ABP Live explicitly trace that span and highlight his steady presence through Brexit, the Covid pandemic and political scandals such as 'partygate' and brief premierships like Liz Truss’s.

Some pieces (The Mirror, The Irish Sun, Daily Express) emphasize cinematic moments with visiting leaders, naming Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Mainstream analyses (AP, NBC News) stress the cat’s role as an apolitical, reassuring figure.

Coverage diverges noticeably over Larry’s effectiveness and personal rivalries.

Local and regional outlets (Stourbridge News, Shropshire Star, The Mountaineer) record an early recorded kill in April 2011 and occasional successful mousing.

CNBC TV18

Other reports emphasise disputed effectiveness, with Radio News Hub and Daily Express saying his success is debated.

Many sources recount fractious relationships with other official animals, notably former Foreign Office cat Palmerston and George Osborne’s Freya, though some pieces stress coexistence and longevity rather than dominance.

Larry’s public profile extends beyond No. 10’s doorstep: he has an anonymous X account (@Number10cat) followed by roughly 877,500 people.

“Larry, the long-serving cat at 10 Downing Street, remains a popular, nonpartisan figure who people see as a symbol of stability, Cambridge professor Philip Howell told AP”

CNBC TV18

He inspired the 2011 book The Larry Diaries and is widely covered in photo galleries and human-interest pieces.

Cootamundra Herald

Sources from different regions note additional, varied details — Philstar, The Mountaineer and The Peninsula Qatar mention that Larry now shares No.10 with the Starmer family cats JoJo and Prince (the Siberian who joined in 2024).

Malay Mail reports a light-hearted anecdote about difficulty installing a cat flap.

These varied emphases show how source type affects coverage: West Asian and Asian outlets highlight institutional or household details, tabloids foreground celebrity moments, and mainstream outlets stress symbolic value.