www.npr.org Open in urlscan Pro
2a02:26f0:3500:586::1155  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Accessibility links
 * Skip to main content
 * Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

NPR 24 Hour Program StreamOn Air Now
 * Hourly News
 * Listen Live
 * Playlist

 * Open Navigation Menu
 * 
 * 
 * Sign In
 * NPR Shop
 * Donate

> Close Navigation Menu
 * Home
 * News Expand/collapse submenu for News
   * National
   * World
   * Politics
   * Business
   * Health
   * Science
   * Climate
   * Race
 * Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture
   * Books
   * Movies
   * Television
   * Pop Culture
   * Food
   * Art & Design
   * Performing Arts
   * Life Kit
 * Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music
   * Tiny Desk
   * #NowPlaying
   * All Songs Considered
   * Music Features
   * Live Sessions
 * Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows
   Daily
    * Morning Edition
    * Weekend Edition Saturday
    * Weekend Edition Sunday
    * All Things Considered
    * Fresh Air
    * Up First
   
   Featured
    * Louder Than A Riot
    * It's Been a Minute
    * Life Kit
    * NPR's Book of the Day
   
    * More Podcasts & Shows

 * Search
 * Sign In
 * NPR Shop

 * 
 * Tiny Desk
 * #NowPlaying
 * All Songs Considered
 * Music Features
 * Live Sessions

 * About NPR
 * Diversity
 * Organization
 * Support
 * Careers
 * Connect
 * Press
 * Ethics

Larry the Cat celebrates 12 years of service at No. 10 Downing Street The Chief
Mouser of No. 10, the London residence and home office of Britain's prime
minister, began his lengthy term in February 2011.


ANIMALS


LARRY THE CAT CELEBRATES 12 YEARS OF DUTIFUL SERVICE AT NO. 10 DOWNING ST.

 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Flipboard
 * Email

February 16, 20233:10 PM ET

By 

Giulia Heyward

Enlarge this image

Larry the Cat is seen in front of No. 10 Downing St. on July 5, 2022. He has now
been on the job as Chief Mouser at the British prime minister's official
residence for a dozen years. Leon Neal/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Leon Neal/Getty Images


Larry the Cat is seen in front of No. 10 Downing St. on July 5, 2022. He has now
been on the job as Chief Mouser at the British prime minister's official
residence for a dozen years.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

In an era of shaky political leadership, England's most dutiful public servant
has reached an important milestone. Larry the Cat celebrated his 12th year as
Chief Mouser for No. 10 Downing St., the residence and home office of Britain's
prime minister, on Wednesday.

"It's has been a pleasure to serve you all for these last 12 years," Larry the
Cat tweeted from the unofficial Twitter account for the feline. "If you're ever
asked if you have a cat, but don't have the joy of one at home, know that you
can answer yes; because I am yours and always will be."

> It’s has been a pleasure to serve you all for these last 12 years. If you’re
> ever asked if you have a cat, but don’t have the joy of one at home, know that
> you can answer yes; because I am yours and always will be x
> (Pic @PjrFoto) pic.twitter.com/ssFRpWlumB
> 
> — Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) February 15, 2023

Larry's enduring presence at No. 10 is in stark contrast to the five prime
ministers who have taken office in the past 12 years: David Cameron, Theresa
May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, whose term began in October.

His length of service also eclipses those of former prime ministers Margaret
Thatcher, Tony Blair, Winston Churchill and Benjamin Disraeli.

The Chief Mouser's tenure began on Feb. 15, 2011, shortly after TV cameras
caught footage of a rat outside the entrance of No. 10. The U.K. Cabinet, under
then-Prime Minister Cameron, rescued Larry from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and
appointed him as Chief Mouser.




ANIMALS


LARRY THE CAT OUTLASTS A FOURTH U.K. PRIME MINISTER

"Larry spends his days greeting guests to the house, inspecting security
defences and testing antique furniture for napping quality," Larry's profile on
the U.K. government website reads. "His day-to-day responsibilities also include
contemplating a solution to the mouse occupancy of the house."

But even Larry is no stranger to controversy. A mouse sighting in 2011 called
the integrity of his work into question and a visit to the vet in 2016 suggested
his health could be deteriorating.

However, a video of the cat chasing a fox away from the No. 10 four months ago
assuaged British citizens and signaled all was well.

As Larry cheekily tweeted back in November: "I live here permanently,
politicians are temporary residents."

 * cats
 * Larry the cat
 * No. 10 Downing Street
 * United Kingdom

 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Flipboard
 * Email






MORE STORIES FROM NPR

EUROPE

BURROWING BADGERS HAVE HALTED SOME TRAIN SERVICE IN THE NETHERLANDS

ANIMALS

A 90-YEAR-OLD TORTOISE NAMED MR. PICKLES JUST BECAME A FATHER OF 3. IT'S A BIG
'DILL'

ENVIRONMENT

MILLIONS OF DEAD FISH HAVE BEEN FOUND IN AN AUSTRALIAN RIVER DUE TO LOW OXYGEN
LEVELS

ANIMALS

RACCOON DOGS MAY HAVE BEEN LINKED TO THE PANDEMIC. WHAT ARE THEY?

RACE

AUDUBON FACES A BACKLASH AFTER DECIDING TO KEEP NAME THAT EVOKES A RACIST
ENSLAVER

GLOBAL HEALTH

WHO CALLS ON CHINA TO SHARE DATA ON RACCOON DOG LINK TO PANDEMIC. HERE'S WHAT WE
KNOW


POPULAR ON NPR.ORG

LAW

GWYNETH PALTROW APPEARS IN A UTAH COURT FOR A TRIAL OVER A 2016 SKI CRASH

LAW

JACK DANIEL'S TELLS SUPREME COURT ITS BRAND IS HARMED BY DOG TOY BAD SPANIELS

MEDIA

THE FBI RAIDED A NOTABLE JOURNALIST'S HOME. ROLLING STONE DIDN'T TELL READERS
WHY

POLITICS

YES, TRUMP CAN RUN FOR PRESIDENT IF HE'S INDICTED, BUT WINNING IS A DIFFERENT
STORY

SCIENCE

MEET THE 'GLASS-HALF-FULL GIRL' WHOSE BRAIN REWIRED AFTER LOSING A HEMISPHERE

ECONOMY

PRIVATE OPULENCE, PUBLIC SQUALOR: HOW THE U.S. HELPS THE RICH AND HURTS THE POOR


NPR EDITORS' PICKS

NATIONAL

UH-OH. A NEW TROPICAL MOSQUITO HAS COME TO FLORIDA. THE BUZZ IT'S CREATING ISN'T
GOOD

TV REVIEWS

'BETTER CALL SAUL' STAR'S NEW SERIES 'LUCKY HANK' MAKES A MIDLIFE CRISIS
COMPELLING

NATIONAL

THEY ESCAPED FROM JAIL USING A TOOTHBRUSH — THEN WERE CAPTURED AT AN IHOP

SCIENCE

SCIENTISTS THINK THEY KNOW WHY INTERSTELLAR OBJECT 'OUMUAMUA MOVED SO STRANGELY

NATIONAL

EX-FLORIDA LAWMAKER BEHIND THE 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW PLEADS GUILTY TO COVID RELIEF
FRAUD

HEALTH

THE CDC IS INVESTIGATING RECALLED EYEDROPS AFTER INFECTIONS CAUSE DEATH AND
BLINDNESS



READ & LISTEN

 * Home
 * News
 * Culture
 * Music
 * Podcasts & Shows

CONNECT

 * Newsletters
 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Instagram
 * Press
 * Contact & Help

ABOUT NPR

 * Overview
 * Diversity
 * Accessibility
 * Ethics
 * Finances
 * Public Editor
 * Corrections

GET INVOLVED

 * Support Public Radio
 * Sponsor NPR
 * NPR Careers
 * NPR Shop
 * NPR Events
 * NPR Extra

 * Terms of Use
 * Privacy
 * Your Privacy Choices
 * Text Only
 * © 2023 npr




Sponsor Message

Become an NPR sponsor




COOKIE CONSENT & SPONSORSHIP CHOICES

We and our partners store and access information on your device, such as unique
IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept and manage your choices
at any time by clicking `Manage Preferences`, including your right to object
where legitimate interest is relied upon. Your choices will be signaled to our
partners and will not affect your browsing.

By clicking “Accept All,” you agree to the use of cookies, similar tracking and
storage technologies, and information about your device to enhance your viewing,
listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from
NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic. This
information is shared with social media, sponsorship, analytics, and other
vendors or service providers.


WE AND OUR PARTNERS PROCESS DATA TO PROVIDE:

Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access
information on a device. Personalised ads and content, ad and content
measurement, audience insights and product development. List of Partners
(service providers or vendors)

Accept All Reject All Manage Preferences



MANAGE PREFERENCES

We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the
delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our
website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent and
legitimate interest. You may exercise your right to consent or object to a
legitimate interest, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in
the link under each purpose. These choices will be signaled to our vendors
participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Allow All


MANAGE CONSENT PREFERENCES

STRICTLY NECESSARY OR ESSENTIAL COOKIES

Always Active

These cookies are essential to provide you with services available through the
NPR Services and to enable you to use some of their features. These cookies are
necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems.
They are usually set in response to actions made by you that amount to a request
for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling
in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies,
but some parts of the site will not then work. Without these cookies, the
services that you have asked for cannot be provided, and we only use these
cookies to provide you with those services.

Cookies Details‎

PERFORMANCE AND ANALYTICS COOKIES

Performance and Analytics Cookies

These cookies are used to collect information about traffic to our Services and
how users interact with the NPR Services. The information collected includes the
number of visitors to the NPR Services, the websites that referred visitors to
the NPR Services, the pages that they visited on the NPR Services, what time of
day they visited the NPR Services, whether they have visited the NPR Services
before, and other similar information. We use this information to help operate
the NPR Services more efficiently, to gather broad demographic information and
to monitor the level of activity on the NPR Services. NPR's third-party service
providers that measure and analyze the use of the NPR Services for NPR also use
their own cookies. NPR's third-party analytics service providers use cookies
across multiple sites to collect visitor data (such as data related to age,
gender and visitor interests).

Cookies Details‎

TARGETING AND SPONSOR COOKIES

Targeting and Sponsor Cookies

These cookies track your browsing habits or other information, such as location,
to enable us to show sponsorship credits which are more likely to be of interest
to you. These cookies use information about your browsing history to group you
with other users who have similar interests. Based on that information, and with
our permission, we and our sponsors can place cookies to enable us or our
sponsors to show sponsorship credits and other messages that we think will be
relevant to your interests while you are using third-party services. NPR works
with third-party vendors that may serve sponsorship credits or other messages to
you on other websites after you visit the NPR Services. These third-party
vendors use their own cookies to recognize you as an NPR Services visitor and to
serve you sponsorship credits or other messages on other websites that they
believe you will find most relevant. If you do not allow these cookies, you may
still receive sponsorship or marketing messages, but they may not be targeted to
your interests.

Cookies Details‎

FUNCTIONAL COOKIES

Functional Cookies

These cookies allow NPR Services to remember choices you make when you use them,
such as remembering your Member station preferences and remembering your account
details. The purpose of these cookies is to provide you with a more personal
experience and to avoid you having to re-enter your preferences every time you
visit the NPR Services. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose
services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some
or all of these services may not function properly.

Cookies Details‎

STORE AND/OR ACCESS INFORMATION ON A DEVICE

Store and/or access information on a device

Cookies, device identifiers, or other information can be stored or accessed on
your device for the purposes presented to you.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Full Legal Text Opens in a new Tab

PERSONALISED ADS AND CONTENT, AD AND CONTENT MEASUREMENT, AUDIENCE INSIGHTS AND
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and
product development

 * SELECT BASIC ADS
   
   Switch Label
   
   Ads can be shown to you based on the content you’re viewing, the app you’re
   using, your approximate location, or your device type.
   
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * CREATE A PERSONALISED ADS PROFILE
   
   Switch Label
   
   A profile can be built about you and your interests to show you personalised
   ads that are relevant to you.
   
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * SELECT PERSONALISED ADS
   
   Switch Label
   
   Personalised ads can be shown to you based on a profile about you.
   
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * CREATE A PERSONALISED CONTENT PROFILE
   
   Switch Label
   
   A profile can be built about you and your interests to show you personalised
   content that is relevant to you.
   
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * SELECT PERSONALISED CONTENT
   
   Switch Label
   
   Personalised content can be shown to you based on a profile about you.
   
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * MEASURE AD PERFORMANCE
   
   Switch Label
   
   The performance and effectiveness of ads that you see or interact with can be
   measured.
   
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * MEASURE CONTENT PERFORMANCE
   
   Switch Label
   
   The performance and effectiveness of content that you see or interact with
   can be measured.
   
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * APPLY MARKET RESEARCH TO GENERATE AUDIENCE INSIGHTS
   
   Switch Label
   
   Market research can be used to learn more about the audiences who visit
   sites/apps and view ads.
   
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * DEVELOP AND IMPROVE PRODUCTS
   
   Switch Label
   
   Your data can be used to improve existing systems and software, and to
   develop new products
   
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Full Legal Text Opens in a new Tab

ACTIVELY SCAN DEVICE CHARACTERISTICS FOR IDENTIFICATION

Actively scan device characteristics for identification

Your device can be identified based on a scan of your device's unique
combination of characteristics.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Full Legal Text Opens in a new Tab

ENSURE SECURITY, PREVENT FRAUD, AND DEBUG

Always Active

Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent fraudulent activity, and ensure
systems and processes work properly and securely.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Full Legal Text Opens in a new Tab

TECHNICALLY DELIVER ADS OR CONTENT

Always Active

Your device can receive and send information that allows you to see and interact
with ads and content.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Full Legal Text Opens in a new Tab

MATCH AND COMBINE OFFLINE DATA SOURCES

Always Active

Data from offline data sources can be combined with your online activity in
support of one or more purposes

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Full Legal Text Opens in a new Tab

LINK DIFFERENT DEVICES

Always Active

Different devices can be determined as belonging to you or your household in
support of one or more of purposes.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Full Legal Text Opens in a new Tab

RECEIVE AND USE AUTOMATICALLY-SENT DEVICE CHARACTERISTICS FOR IDENTIFICATION

Always Active

Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it
automatically sends, such as IP address or browser type.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Full Legal Text Opens in a new Tab
Back Button


PERFORMANCE COOKIES



Search Icon
Filter Icon

Clear
checkbox label label
Apply Cancel
Consent Leg.Interest
checkbox label label
checkbox label label
checkbox label label

 * 
   
   View Cookies
   
    * Name
      cookie name

Reject All Confirm My Choices