'Chief Mouser,' Larry The Cat, Moves In With British Prime Minister David Cameron (VIDEO)

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LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister David Cameron turned to a new recruit Tuesday to help fend off his foes – an ally armed with whiskers, claws and sharp teeth.

Larry, a four-year-old tabby cat, arrived at his new home at 10 Downing Street, tasked with warding off a pack of rats seen scuttling close to the British leader's official residence.

The former stray, adopted from London's Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, is the latest pet to be appointed Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, an unofficial pest control post.

Television cameras had captured several sightings of rats around Downing Street – a common problem in London, where the trash on sidewalks provides a constant supply of food.

"I'm delighted to welcome Larry to his new home," Cameron said in a statement. "I'm sure he will be a great addition to Downing Street and will charm our many visitors."

Cameron's office said the pets home believed Larry would be well suited to his new role because "before coming to Battersea, he was a stray, so he is used to fending for himself on the streets."

The last holder of Larry's office, a male cat called Humphrey, retired in 1997 and died in 2006.

Ex-Treasury chief Alistair Darling – who lived next door to then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown at No. 11 Downing Street – also had a pet cat, Sybil, who was renowned for her prowess in catching mice.

Cameron's spokesman Steve Field said Larry had taken a relaxed approach so far to his duties. "He's spent most of the time asleep, he seems quite relaxed and easy going," he told reporters.

Field confirmed Cameron had met with the cat and picked him up, but said it wasn't yet clear whether he would sleep in the family's quarters or elsewhere in the building.

Downing Street staff – not taxpayers – are picking up the costs of feeding Larry, Field said.

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Comments

[Jdaddy1951]

01:33 PM on 02/23/2011

I've always praised my cats when they bring home a tiny field mouse and drop it off on the front steps. I say things like, "Oh, you brave kitty! That horrible thing could have carried me off in my sleep." I figure it's what they do, and when they bring me a present like that, it's easier to praise them for it, to show appreciation, than eat it.

[Passerineblue]

09:54 AM on 02/19/2011

For rats, you need a Jack Russell terrier or other terrier. Cats can't handle rats. My 15 year old Himalayan is a terrific mouser. He flings them around and then brings them to me meowing very weirdley (so proud of his prowess), and I then release them back into the wild. He has never eaten one.

Another cat (a tuxedo) would drag anything into the house, half alive. Lizards, baby birds, etc. His littermate had no interest.

[kittkat]

02:06 PM on 02/18/2011

Congratulations on your new post Larry!

[KangaRooTWO]

07:17 AM on 02/18/2011

I'm very pleased to read this article about Larry, as it might spur more folks into adopting cats and dogs from animal shelters. There are so many wonderful pets who are there through no fault of their own....

Opt to Adopt !!!

[walkonby]

02:23 PM on 02/16/2011

larry is quite a handsome fellow. nice that the folks at 10 downing adopted a stray.

[Blackorpheus]

02:05 AM on 02/16/2011

But isn't Cameron a mouse. Or is it a rat? Go get 'im, Larry.

[inthedesert]

07:27 PM on 02/15/2011

Larry won't be around very long then...rats carry all kinds of nasty vermin on them and in them...poor Larry..if he only knew what was in store for him...he'd run away fast from Number 10.

[abbienormal]

12:05 AM on 02/17/2011

I doubt that they have rats. He is a mouser.

[abbienormal]

12:08 AM on 02/17/2011

Oops! I reread the article and I was wrong.

[TangerineTwilight]

06:56 PM on 02/15/2011

I have three cats and i got a mouse in my house. Can you believe that? So I didn't do anything because i was sure one of my cats would get him. Then after about a month I realized it was still there. I actually had to go to store and get special non poisonous traps. No, the cats never got him but I did.

[thtrmgr]

07:26 PM on 02/15/2011

I had two cats and three dogs (one of my kitties passed away a year ago from hyperthyroidism but the others are still going strong) and my shelter sheltie-mix was the only mouser of the five... the cats were the spotters but the dog was the real hunter among them.

[No stinking fans]

09:38 PM on 02/15/2011

Don't feed them for a week and your problem would have been no more.

[barkingcat]

08:31 AM on 02/16/2011

Or even a day.

[rainkitty]

06:21 PM on 02/15/2011

Chinese man trains 60 cats to guard granary:
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_625118.html

[lilpeg]

05:58 PM on 02/15/2011

My cat Eddie has the same job around here and looks just like him. Hope they both do a good job.

[FuzzyBongo]

05:44 PM on 02/15/2011

My gosh, that looks like a british cat! Look at the refined and pointed nose! How very english! What a little love!

[Tunghoy]

03:55 PM on 02/15/2011

Larry is a handsome cat, but he also looks very intelligent. I'm sure he understands what Fleet Street is saying about him. And I bet he knows exactly what to do with rats: EXTERMINATE!

[no exit]

02:10 PM on 02/15/2011

Please remember that cats do not hunt because they are hungry, they hunt for the thrill of the chase. So please feed Larry regularly.

[Militant Leftist]

02:38 PM on 02/15/2011

My stray eats birds and chipmunks, in addition to cat-food she's fed twice a day.

[no exit]

03:02 PM on 02/15/2011

Oh yes, they'll still eat mice, rats, moles, and the occasional chipmunk - mine do too, they just eat the heads and leave the rest as a gift. Took a few weeks, but they don't kill birds anymore.

What I was trying to get across was some people who get cats to take care of mice and rats don't feed them because they think it will make the cats kill more rodents.

[Anne Mccormick]

05:35 PM on 02/15/2011

prime minister Cameron does have a brain you know

[no exit]

06:03 PM on 02/15/2011

Really? Was there some implication that he didn't?

[littlechanges]

02:04 PM on 02/15/2011

Doubtless, Larry already survived some big rodents in London. Dogs fill a need for the lonely or socially isolated in big cities, but those places also tend to be rat-prone (same as NY, DC, etc...), which are also predominantly dog cities - and not in a pleasant way, since rats have no issue dining on dog poop. Once again, a circular problem created by too many people.

[jannielee]

04:11 PM on 02/15/2011

A sanitation worker told me that doggie poop is like Alpo to a rat. Dogs it seems, only absorb about 60% nutrition from their food. The rest is for the vermin, provided owners don't pick it up. Perhaps that's natures way of feeding disgusting rats and cleaning up the environment at the same time.

[tomteboda]

05:00 AM on 02/17/2011

I would like to point out that some of the best creatures for hunting rats are small dogs. However, people cannot and do not let their small dogs run around loose.

[TXfemmom]

02:03 PM on 02/15/2011

Larry is a cutie.  Our cat, Bonnie, just loved to bring mice into the house to play with them for a while before she finished them off, and I did not approve of that.