Larry The Cat Back At Downing Street After Surgery, Sporting A New Scar

Veterinarians removed a cyst that was causing the legendary mouser some discomfort, but it did not appear related to any larger health issue.

Not even surgery can slow him down.

Larry the Cat, the long-serving chief mouser at No. 10 Downing St. in London, underwent an operation on Oct. 8 and was back in the UK’s seat of power the following day.

Veterinarians removed a cyst from the beloved feline, who has held his post for 15 years and is currently on his seventh prime minister. Citing “a Downing Street source,” The Telegraph reported Larry didn’t miss a beat.

“He is feline much better but taking things one paw at a time,” the source told The Telegraph’s Sapphire Hope. “We are grateful to the vets for their outstanding care.”

A striped cat sitting on a colorful patterned rug, looking towards the viewer.
Larry overseeing government operations in the prime minister’s office. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Cysts are pockets of tissue that are mostly benign but can cause pain and discomfort. There’s nothing to indicate the cyst removed from Larry was associated with any larger health problem, and he reportedly didn’t skip a beat when returned to his rightful place in the UK’s equivalent of the White House, returning immediately to his usual rounds, napping and treats.

A photo provided by No. 10 Downing St.’s Ben Perry (top image) shows a patch of shaved fur and Larry’s new scar. Perhaps it will make him more popular with the female mousers in nearby government offices.

At 19 years old, Larry has outlasted a record number of prime ministers since he was appointed to his position in 2011 during David Cameron’s tenure, but The Telegraph notes he’s not yet the longest-serving mouser. Peter III, a void kitty, served 17 years until his death on March 9, 1964. Peter oversaw the activities of five ministers prime, including Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee, and enjoyed a similar level of popularity with the adoring public and overseas admirers.

9 thoughts on “Larry The Cat Back At Downing Street After Surgery, Sporting A New Scar”

  3. Let’s hope his surgeons have been adequately rewarded for doing such a fine job. Operating on Larry will probably be the highlight of their careers, an achievement about which they will proudly boast to their grandkids many years from now.

    Like

    Reply

    1. “What was he like, grandpa?”

      “Well, he was magnanimous, regal, charming and extremely dapper, even while unconscious on the operating table.”

      “But how did you face the future knowing the greatest moment of your life was now behind you, and nothing else could possibly compare?”

      “Uh…”

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  4. OT: have you read the BBC Wildlife article about the 10 most dangerous animals? Rats, cane toads and – you guessed it – cats are high up on the list.

    The article noted the gargantuan numbers of animals cats have killed as well as the species cats have extincted.

    The other day Catster of all sources had a story about the downsides of TNR. Among other problems TNR is hard to enforce, caretakers can be unreliable and even TNR’d cats destroy the environment.

    I don’t mean to bring anyone down. It astonishes me to see reliable sources publish blatantly anti-cat propaganda.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Catster also has articles that claim Ashera cats are real “luxury pets” when anyone capable of reading and using Google can figure out in minutes that they never existed and have always been a scam. By publishing stories claiming they’re real, Catster is helping perpetuate the scam and makes it easier for con artists to rip people off.

      I haven’t really written anything about cat specific publications because it’s difficult to do without looking petty, but most of them are content mills polluting the web with AI-generated slop and cheap content from overseas freelancers.

      PetHelpful and ParadePets are two more I’ve filtered out of my Google alerts because their standard content is misleading headlines leading to 5-second TikTok clips which are always a waste of time, and ads for junk products on Amazon and Walmart with headlines like “You have GOT to buy this adorable cat tree from Walmart!”

      Then there are the for-profit sites that are constantly hitting up readers for donations to continue “activism” which amounts to online petitions. Not only is there no overhead for those petitions, but the operators of those sites peddle outrage bait and manipulate social media algorithms to rile people up, then prompt them for donations in a way that portrays their zero-effort petitions as activism and charitable work. But of course as for-profit enterprises they are not subject to any financial oversight and aren’t required to say a word about where those donations go.

      Sorry for the rant, but yeah, it’s a sea of misinformation and grift out there.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a Reply