Britain’s most popular cat, Larry, was seen outside the Prime Minister’s office this week going above and beyond his mouse hunting duties. The long-serving chief mouser of the Cabinet Office took on the fox outside 10 Downing Street – and won.
A video of the cat-dog fisticuffs has gone viral, showing Larry crawling up to a small fox with laser focus. When the fox tried to hide in a flower bed, Larry pounced and chased it away.
“Fox off,” message from unofficial Twitter account as Larry reads along with the video of the incident.
gov.uk
But shortly afterwards a message from the account apparently released another message saying it “felt guilty about chasing away a fox” and offered information from UK animal welfare charity the RSPCA on how to keep foxes out of gardens and live with them . According to the RSPCA, foxes are one of the most popular animals in the country and they are commonly seen in urban areas.
The first cat to be given the honorary and official title of Chief Mouser, Larry has been looking after animal issues at 10 Downing Street for years, dutifully serving Prime Ministers David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and now Liz Truss. He was adopted specifically for his mouse hunting skills in February 2011 from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, one of the UK’s oldest animal rescues.
According to Larry’s official description on the UK government website, he “spends his days welcoming guests to the house, security defense inspection and testing antique furniture for sleep quality.”
“His daily duties also include considering a solution to the problem of mice occupying the house,” the website says. “Larry says it’s still ‘in the tactical planning phase.’
The cat has become so popular that he was even nominated to be the country’s next prime minister earlier this year — complete with campaign website and all.
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