The beloved Downing Street cat, Larry, is getting old, so officials are working out a media plan to announce his death when it’s time to say goodbye to him. The Cabinet Office’s chief mouser has outlived most tabby cats, and people are worried he may be in his final years. As the cat has a large following on X (formerly Twitter), officials think it’s important to handle the matter sensitively when the time comes.
Larry the Cat requests bank holiday for funeral, assures fans ‘I’m fine’
Larry the cat recently welcomed Keir Starmer, who will become Britain’s sixth prime minister. Larry has been with David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. But this tabby is 17 years old. Most tabby cats have an average lifespan of 12 to 15 years.
Downing Street staff fear the cat may be nearing the end of its life, so they are reconsidering when to announce its death. A carefully selected photograph of the Chief Mouser will be delivered to Downing Street’s Cabinet Office and made public when the cat eventually dies. TimesThe images are stored in a folder in the 10th IT system.
A press release was also prepared in the event of this unfortunate event, ensuring the issue was handled with care. The plan was named Larry Bridges. There was also a well thought out social media plan in place for X’s followers.
However, government officials were quick to reassure Downing Street’s cat that he was doing fine, with the Chief Mouser’s X account also telling followers as much, exclaiming that the cat was “…still going strong”. In a light-hearted manner, Larry the Cat called for a bank holiday to be declared for his funeral.
