Larry the cat has become Downing Street’s first Chief Mouser to serve under six prime ministers after Sir Keir Starmer’s general election victory.
The tabby and white cat arrived from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in February 2011 and has been one of the few constants at No 10 ever since.
Sir Keir’s landslide win last week means Larry has now served more occupants of Downing Street than any of his predecessors.
The 17-year-old moggie has also been in his role during the premierships of Lord Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
But he has four more years fighting Westminster’s mouse problem ahead if he is to become the longest-serving mouser.
That accolade is held by Peter III, who held the post between 1947 and 1964 but only served under five prime ministers – Attlee, Churchill, Eden, Macmillan and Douglas-Home.
The original Peter was the second cat to serve in the formal role, succeeding Treasury Bill, and was in post for 17 years.
Between the two cats came Peter II, who took the job as a two-month-old kitten but was struck by a car in Whitehall after just six months and was put to sleep shortly afterwards.
Larry, whose full honorary title is Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, is held in higher regard than either Sir Keir or his predecessor Mr Sunak, an Ipsos poll found last week.
The survey showed 44 per cent of people have a favourable opinion of Larry, while just four per cent take an unfavourable view.
This makes him significantly more popular than the new Prime Minister, who is seen favourably by 34 per cent and unfavourably by 41 per cent.
Just 22 per cent of voters had a favourable view of Mr Sunak at the end of his time in Downing Street, with 58 per cent having an unfavourable opinion.
Larry has provided no shortage of memorable moments during his time at Downing Street.
He faced his first calls to resign within months of starting the job in 2011 after he was spotted sleeping on the job for hours as a Downing Street press conference took place.
But these were rejected by the then prime minister’s spokesman, who insisted he “brings a lot of pleasure to a lot of people”.
Larry was introduced to Barack Obama, the then American president, by Lord Cameron within months of taking the job.
He has occasionally come to blows with Palmerston, the mouser at the Foreign Office, and Downing Street paid for him to see a vet after he was wounded in one of their fights.
On July 26, 2016 the backdoor to No 10 was left open, and Palmerston, sneaked in. In the ensuing fight, Larry lost his collar and Palmerston’s ear was damaged. Palmerston was later evicted by resident police with Larry regaining his No 10 territory back
In 2016, the then outgoing prime minister Lord Cameron posted a snap showing Larry snuggled on his lap amid rumours the pair didn’t get on.
In 2022, Larry was memorably captured on camera chasing a fox from outside the Prime Minister’s residence, marching it backwards, over a railing and into a bush late at night.
It has been reported Sir Keir is planning to bring a dog to Downing Street to help ease his son and daughter into life in No 10.
Asked before the election whether he would take after Boris Johnson, who brought in Dilyn, Sir Keir said his children “have been on a campaign to get a dog for a number of years now”.
“[A] German shepherd is the current favourite, although there’s a range of possibilities, so we shall see,” he told Times Radio.
“But as I say I’m getting into dangerous territory now because if my boy and girl get hold of this footage, I’ll be confronted with it when I get back to them.”
The Starmers already have a cat of their own, Jojo, a rescue cat who is likely to view the move to Downing Street with some apprehension.
Ms Truss, Mr Johnson’s successor, said she started her short tenure “itching” because “the place was infested with fleas”, saying there were claims but “no evidence” Dilyn was at fault.