Simple Enough

thedailywhat:

Shocking Scandal of the (Catur)Day: 10 Downing Street found itself embroiled in yet another scandal when BBC News revealed earlier this week that Larry — Her Majesty’s Government’s resident “mouser” — was spending most of his time sleeping or hanging out with a female feline friend named Maisie in lieu of catching mice.

The four-year-old tabby first arrived at Number 10 in February following an incident involving a large rat spotted scurrying outside the Prime Minister’s headquarters during a live television broadcast.

Adopted from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Larry was tasked with eliminating No 10’s “rat problem.” PM David Cameron swore by Larry’s skills, telling the BBC in June that he has managed to catch three mice so far and was “a good mouser.”

But BBC News Channel’s chief political correspondent Norman Smith said Larry was sound asleep during a recent ministerial dinner, and “showed no signs of waking up” despite the myriad ministers walking past his post.

Making matters worse, a mouse showed up uninvited to the PM’s party, and had to be dealt with by Mr. Cameron himself. The BBC reports that he chased the rodent away with a fork.

Despite the outrage and inevitable backlash, Larry will not be asked to resign. “[He] brings a lot of pleasure to a lot of people,” said Cameron’s spokesman.

[bbcnews / mediaite / photo: afp via atlantic.]

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• Cat-astrophe: British Prime Minister’s Feline Can’t Catch Mice (newsfeed.time.com)
• Downing St cat backed despite mice (bbc.co.uk)

(via kittenskittenskittens)