Fur flies in the House of Lords as staff are forced to pay vet bills for Larry the cat

WHEN Larry the Number 10 cat was wounded in a fight with Palmerston, the Foreign Office feline, Downing Street staff dipped into their pockets to pay for it to see a vet. Now the undisclosed bill has caused fur to fly among senior Tories in the House of Lords.

Palmerston took up its post as resident mouser of the Foreign Office in April, but the cat’s arrival saw the start of a brutal conflict with Larry, No 10’s “Chief Mouser” since February 2011.

Larry’s upkeep has always been paid for by the Downing Street staff, through voluntary donations, rather than from taxpayers’ funds. However, Lord Blencathra, who served as an environment minister in Sir John Major’s government, has now raised concerns about the arrangement, submitting formal questions to the Government in the House of Lords about the upkeep of the official cat. Why, he asked, were the costs of Larry’s treatment met by donations from staff?

And would the government refund those staff who had paid the vet? Furthermore, what systems have the Government put in place “to ensure that there is proper routine and emergency veterinary treatment for government cats, and any other officially owned animals in government service”?

The Government insisted that officials were so in love with Larry they would never dream of asking for a refund. Larry was recruited from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home under David Cameron’s regime to keep the Downing Street mice at bay. There was initially speculation about whether Mrs May would sack the cat in her ruthless reshuffle. However, Larry has remained in post, and the cat is clearly fiercely protective of its territory.