That's English for "cat".
February 18, 2011 8:27 PM Subscribe
Meet Larry, the newest incumbent to the office of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Bo was unavailable for comment, but was heard to utter "woof" at the news.
His pay is £100 a year, plus all the rat he can catch. It is anticipated that most of his pay will be spent on food. Originally, nominating a feline to the position was not considered, until a pro-feline faction appeared at 10 Downing Street, and thus, in the interest of ConDem-Cat relations, the appointment was made.
His pay is £100 a year, plus all the rat he can catch. It is anticipated that most of his pay will be spent on food. Originally, nominating a feline to the position was not considered, until a pro-feline faction appeared at 10 Downing Street, and thus, in the interest of ConDem-Cat relations, the appointment was made.
Eriko, are you trying to be sarcastic?
posted by parmanparman at 8:47 PM on February 18, 2011
posted by parmanparman at 8:47 PM on February 18, 2011
Our rescued alley cat is a bad-ass motherfucker. We're in the city, in a row house, and we've overheard a succession of neighbors sing his praises. He may leave us, and them, a present on the porch (or, on special occasions, in a shoe) every now and then, but he does a damned good job at keeping live city wildlife out of our house. That'll do, Freak; that'll do.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:49 PM on February 18, 2011 [7 favorites]
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:49 PM on February 18, 2011 [7 favorites]
We also have a stray named Larry. Strong Larry. He his only ever referred to by his full name.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:08 PM on February 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:08 PM on February 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
That is a very serious looking cat. Serious cat. For Britian.
posted by The Whelk at 9:31 PM on February 18, 2011
posted by The Whelk at 9:31 PM on February 18, 2011
Yeah, Whelk, for Britian.
posted by parmanparman at 9:54 PM on February 18, 2011
posted by parmanparman at 9:54 PM on February 18, 2011
Previous longest serving mouser was Wilberforce, who served for 18 years, through the tenure of 4 PMs? Larry has a lot to live up to. Handsome cat, though.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:28 PM on February 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:28 PM on February 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
International Studies Thesis from 2020: The Decline and Fall of British power projection in the new millenium; from £3.9bn CATOBAR to £100 Cat
posted by protorp at 10:39 PM on February 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by protorp at 10:39 PM on February 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Wow, even the man's cat looks airbrushed.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:58 PM on February 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Sys Rq at 10:58 PM on February 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Doing a fast conversion in my head, I spend by far more than £100 a year per each of my cats in vet bills, food, and catnip toys, so the British taxpayer is getting a fine deal in Larry there, especially if he is anywhere as good of a mouser as one of my two fuzzballs is.
If he is as hopeless a mouser as the other one is, though, well, we can blame Thatcher on privatizing the rats.
posted by strixus at 11:00 PM on February 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
If he is as hopeless a mouser as the other one is, though, well, we can blame Thatcher on privatizing the rats.
posted by strixus at 11:00 PM on February 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
Nick Clegg reportedly happy with his new portfolio and looking forward to working closely with CMCO Larry.
posted by Grimgrin at 11:01 PM on February 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Grimgrin at 11:01 PM on February 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
Handsome cat. I think he'll be a good mouser.
posted by shoesietart at 11:28 PM on February 18, 2011
posted by shoesietart at 11:28 PM on February 18, 2011
I can't adequately express how much I am enthralled by my cute little merciless predators.
posted by Xoebe at 11:42 PM on February 18, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Xoebe at 11:42 PM on February 18, 2011 [3 favorites]
Rats have recently twice appeared in the background of TV news broadcasts from Downing Street.
posted by tomcooke at 12:28 AM on February 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by tomcooke at 12:28 AM on February 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Wow, David Cameron has a cat! And he loves it! He must be a human after all!
I will trust him with my future.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 2:06 AM on February 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
I will trust him with my future.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 2:06 AM on February 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
And clearly he is very proud of his life today.
Maybe he's taking tips on relevance and substance from his sister.
posted by atrazine at 2:22 AM on February 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Maybe he's taking tips on relevance and substance from his sister.
posted by atrazine at 2:22 AM on February 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm always surprised when I see pictures of past mousers and see just how fluffy they are- I guess I assume that they're going to be much more fierce and alley-catish. Glad to see Larry lives up to his fluffy predecessors.
posted by kro at 2:29 AM on February 19, 2011
posted by kro at 2:29 AM on February 19, 2011
We keep screwing up and nobody is falling for our Big Society line, so here, look at a cat! (also forthcoming, Royal Wedding)
posted by knapah at 3:08 AM on February 19, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by knapah at 3:08 AM on February 19, 2011 [5 favorites]
That cat looks like he's going to waste the £100 on fancy collars and catnip.
posted by jeather at 4:43 AM on February 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by jeather at 4:43 AM on February 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Cobby fella, that's a policy I can get behind.
posted by arcticseal at 4:54 AM on February 19, 2011
posted by arcticseal at 4:54 AM on February 19, 2011
I'm always surprised when I see pictures of past mousers and see just how fluffy they are- I guess I assume that they're going to be much more fierce and alley-catish.
I think they gussy the mousers up for the photoshoots. Otherwise, you'd see the matted fur, the blood, the world-weary look, and the feather-on-a-stick. Can't have the taxpayer seeing that.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:04 AM on February 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
I think they gussy the mousers up for the photoshoots. Otherwise, you'd see the matted fur, the blood, the world-weary look, and the feather-on-a-stick. Can't have the taxpayer seeing that.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:04 AM on February 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
Eh, much more cost effective than hiring an exterminator, not to mention the fact that setting out poisons and chemicals just sounds like a bad idea anyway. I had a few mice when I first bought my house. They were promptly killed and gifted to me by my cats. It's now been three years since I've seen one here.
Speaking of working cats, I recently discovered Tama. Tama has her own train, the Tama Densha.
posted by TrialByMedia at 6:26 AM on February 19, 2011 [5 favorites]
Speaking of working cats, I recently discovered Tama. Tama has her own train, the Tama Densha.
posted by TrialByMedia at 6:26 AM on February 19, 2011 [5 favorites]
In the Big Society, even pets have to have a job and carry their own weight.
posted by immlass at 7:27 AM on February 19, 2011
posted by immlass at 7:27 AM on February 19, 2011
After a name like "Wilberforce" how do you just use "Larry"? Could they not at least made it "Larryassault" or "Larrymurder" or something you know... threatening... for the rats...
posted by PenDevil at 8:30 AM on February 19, 2011
posted by PenDevil at 8:30 AM on February 19, 2011
How long is it going to be before PETA makes a stink about the rats that are going to be presumably killed by the cat?
posted by Leezie at 9:06 AM on February 19, 2011
posted by Leezie at 9:06 AM on February 19, 2011
The cat's not going to kill anything. It's trained to catch the mice, carry them in its mouth like cats do kittens, and deposit them gently and unharmed in front of the Prime Minister.
Who then eats them, live, before putting his really rather ill-fitting human mask back on.
posted by reynir at 9:12 AM on February 19, 2011 [14 favorites]
Who then eats them, live, before putting his really rather ill-fitting human mask back on.
posted by reynir at 9:12 AM on February 19, 2011 [14 favorites]
I came home one day and found my cat in the bathroom, which is not one of her usual hangouts. I leaned down to see what was in the corner of her mouth. It was a tail.
Then the tail twitched...
I shrieked like a little girl and leaped back. After steeling my nerves, I gently pried open the cat's jaws and extracted the mouse. It seemed frozen with terror but otherwise unharmed.
I rushed outside, carried it across the street, and left the mouse at the foot of some bushes lining a quiet cross-street. It seemed like a safe place for him to collect his wits. "The park is two blocks that way," I told him, pointing west. "Good luck, soldier."
I went back in the house. The cat seemed just a bit proud of itself; anything more would have been incompatible with the dignity of felines. "We'll score that as your first kill," I told her, petting her head respectfully. "Two more and you'll be an ace."
Since she earned that rank, we have seen no more mice. As I type this in bed, she is sitting next to me with her cat-thoughts - a warrior enjoying the fruits of peace.
posted by Joe Beese at 9:13 AM on February 19, 2011 [19 favorites]
Then the tail twitched...
I shrieked like a little girl and leaped back. After steeling my nerves, I gently pried open the cat's jaws and extracted the mouse. It seemed frozen with terror but otherwise unharmed.
I rushed outside, carried it across the street, and left the mouse at the foot of some bushes lining a quiet cross-street. It seemed like a safe place for him to collect his wits. "The park is two blocks that way," I told him, pointing west. "Good luck, soldier."
I went back in the house. The cat seemed just a bit proud of itself; anything more would have been incompatible with the dignity of felines. "We'll score that as your first kill," I told her, petting her head respectfully. "Two more and you'll be an ace."
Since she earned that rank, we have seen no more mice. As I type this in bed, she is sitting next to me with her cat-thoughts - a warrior enjoying the fruits of peace.
posted by Joe Beese at 9:13 AM on February 19, 2011 [19 favorites]
Why didn't they get one those well trained cats from Hereford? SAS cats are bad-ass.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:28 AM on February 19, 2011
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:28 AM on February 19, 2011
I too know the terror of waking up to a severed mouse head next to me on the bed. Damn kitty mafiosos.
posted by bonehead at 9:44 AM on February 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by bonehead at 9:44 AM on February 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
"Two more and you'll be an ace."
It takes five kills to be an ace.
posted by Pendragon at 10:02 AM on February 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
It takes five kills to be an ace.
posted by Pendragon at 10:02 AM on February 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Larry is an excellent name for a working mouser. We had a rescue cat, a battered, fierce-looking fellow, named Larry. He was solid black with jade-green eyes and a highly refined ability to instantly occupy any available lap. Birds were his specialty, but he was hell on moles, voles, mice, and chipmunks, too.
His theme song (don't your cats have theme songs? All of mine do.) involved the words "Larry", "hairy" and "scary".
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:03 AM on February 19, 2011 [4 favorites]
His theme song (don't your cats have theme songs? All of mine do.) involved the words "Larry", "hairy" and "scary".
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:03 AM on February 19, 2011 [4 favorites]
Wow, David Cameron has a cat! And he loves it! He must be a human after all!
Here's some footage!
posted by Sys Rq at 10:03 AM on February 19, 2011
Here's some footage!
posted by Sys Rq at 10:03 AM on February 19, 2011
don't your cats have theme songs? All of mine do.
To the tune of "Macho Man:"
Wensley, Wensleydale! I want to be! Wensleydale! Wensley, Wensleydale! I want to be Wensleydale!
posted by sonika at 10:08 AM on February 19, 2011 [5 favorites]
To the tune of "Macho Man:"
Wensley, Wensleydale! I want to be! Wensleydale! Wensley, Wensleydale! I want to be Wensleydale!
posted by sonika at 10:08 AM on February 19, 2011 [5 favorites]
I miss my cat and given the mouse problem I've had this winter I can hope that the pro-cat faction will overcome the deathly allergic faction eventually.
posted by humanfont at 11:05 AM on February 19, 2011
posted by humanfont at 11:05 AM on February 19, 2011
geesh, the Ravens at the tower get sniper support.
posted by clavdivs at 3:51 PM on February 19, 2011
posted by clavdivs at 3:51 PM on February 19, 2011
HRH Miss Lady Qu'Appelle, RIP, was a mighty mouser back in her prime.
One afternoon, she left me a gift - a mouse organ, in the middle of a small pool of blood, centered on my pillow. Yes. Just an organ. I think it was a stomach. The rest of the mouse was gone. She noticed me admiring her handiwork and trotted in, all chirping and happy and pleased as she could be. 'See Mom! I left the best part for you! Now, feast!'.
Creepiest thing I ever saw a cat do. Thanks, Qu'Appelle, for the nightmare fuel. Thanks.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:31 PM on February 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
One afternoon, she left me a gift - a mouse organ, in the middle of a small pool of blood, centered on my pillow. Yes. Just an organ. I think it was a stomach. The rest of the mouse was gone. She noticed me admiring her handiwork and trotted in, all chirping and happy and pleased as she could be. 'See Mom! I left the best part for you! Now, feast!'.
Creepiest thing I ever saw a cat do. Thanks, Qu'Appelle, for the nightmare fuel. Thanks.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:31 PM on February 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
@spinifex:
Creepiest thing I ever saw a cat do. Thanks, Qu'Appelle, for the nightmare fuel. Thanks.
Yup. Reminds me of the time that my sweet girl Max left a bird's head and heart at the top of my stairs for me. Just the head. And the heart. The funniest part was that wasn't the entrance for the cats, they used the window. So it was just for me. Love those fuzzy little serial killers.
posted by the_royal_we at 11:51 PM on February 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Creepiest thing I ever saw a cat do. Thanks, Qu'Appelle, for the nightmare fuel. Thanks.
Yup. Reminds me of the time that my sweet girl Max left a bird's head and heart at the top of my stairs for me. Just the head. And the heart. The funniest part was that wasn't the entrance for the cats, they used the window. So it was just for me. Love those fuzzy little serial killers.
posted by the_royal_we at 11:51 PM on February 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
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