Larry the cat: Downing Street's 'chief mouser' is now 17 - here's the official plan for when he passes away

Larry the cat was already about four years old when he was brought into Number 10 Downing Street in 2011, to help control its rat problem. The former stray was adopted from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, and was specially selected for his "high chase-drive and hunting instinct", a spokesperson told the BBC at the time.

The tabby-and-white tomcat was given the honorary title of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office. He went on to become a media darling, often posing for photographers outside No. 10 - a far cry from his first days in office when he scratched two TV reporters who tried to hold him.

But The Times reports that Downing Street officials have a plan in place for when the now-elderly moggie eventually runs out of lives, drawn up over the last year. The plan has been named ‘Larry Bridges’, a nod to plans around members of the royal family’s deaths, such as Queen Elizabeth II’s - which was called ‘Operation London Bridge’.

There are a set of special photos set to be released upon the beloved feline’s passing, securely stored on the government’s IT system. A press release and graphics have also been drafted.

“We felt it had to be handled so sensitively,” a source told the paper. Another added that a “social media plan” had also been prepared, to break the news to Larry’s many online admirers.

Despite his advanced age for a cat of his pedigree, officials maintained that he remained in good health for the time being - so hopefully there will be no need to put Operation Larry Bridges into action any time soon. No details have been released yet as to whether there will be any kind of funeral or memorial instated after his passing.

Larry has served under six Prime Ministers; David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, and now Keir Starmer. But the 17-year-old’s time in office has also had its fair share of drama.

He was initially criticised in the media for poor job performance after failing to catch any rodents, although he later went on to kill mice and even take down a pigeon - sometimes parading his catches in front of reporters, Metro reports.

When a new cat called Palmerston moved into the Foreign Office in 2016, the two developed a fierce rivalry. It culminated in a number of public catfights - one of which saw Larry needing vet care. Palmerston eventually retired to the countryside later that year.

He’s also caused a few kerfuffles with US politicians too. While he was president, Donald Trump was once not able to depart after a meeting with Theresa May when Larry lay down behind his vehicle, the Mirror reports. There has been some speculation in the past the feline didn’t care much for men, but he did famously let Barack Obama pet him - with David Cameron saying: “Funnily enough, he liked Barack Obama. Obama gave him a stroke and he was all right with Obama.”

A parody X account - formerly known as Twitter - has been run in Larry’s name for some years, delivering comedic if sometimes scathing commentary of politicians. It has racked up nearly 900 thousand followers.