Fun & Famous
AN ODE TO LARRY
The cutest and laziest cat that exists
I, cat freak through and through, I really thought I would know the famous cats of the earth. But it turns out that there are not only glamour kitties like Karl Lagerfeld's Choupette, there are also cats with a real function. May I introduce you to Larry: the rat catcher of Cameron.
Yes, the British Prime Minister David Cameron. About five years ago, rats were spotted at his little palace on Downing Street 10, after which it was decided to bring in a stray cat – as it would have the most experience catching rats and mice. So the striped Larry was off, stray no more, and suddenly promoted to royal tomcat with a Very Important Task. The British crazies embraced Larry. There were Larry posters, fan accounts, and the paparazzi could not be shaken off at the front door of Downing Street. All to catch a glimpse of the rich man's cat of the moment. He probably turned up his nose at Gourmet Gold, knowing that he would be served freshly steamed salmon on a porcelain plate in the evening. Larry boy, Larry had it all.
‘What a performance pressure. Poor Larry. Will you come live with me?’
But now it turns out that Larry is not such an active Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office. And he is under fire from the British media for being too lazy. The little creature would only make himself useful by posing for the press, organizing catfights on the grounds, as a tester of the red carpet AND as a chic Downing Street decoration. Hello, also important, I would think. But no, no, that’s not what Larry was hired for.
As a solution, Palmerston moved into Downing Street last month. A black/white cat who takes over the role of Chief Mouse. And the puss takes his job very seriously: he barely crossed the holy threshold before catching a mouse. And now the press is all over Palmerston, he is the king of the grounds and soon there will probably be Palmerston mugs and lunch boxes in stores. What a performance pressure. Poor Larry. Will you come live with me? I still have a cat paradise where you will have a purrrrfect time.
