Larry the Cat was seen leaving the residence of the British prime minister just as Keir Starmer welcomed the Ukrainian leader
During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the official residence of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, the dwelling’s resident feline, Larry the Cat, was captured on video seemingly ignoring the arrival.
Zelensky’s visit to 10 Downing Street aimed to garner additional financial and military support for the ongoing conflict with Russia.
A video posted to Zelensky’s official X (formerly Twitter) account shows Starmer greeting Zelensky on a red carpet outside the residence in central London. As Zelensky crosses the threshold of the house, Larry is immediately seen running out the door and standing outside, looking around.
Social media users shared the video, with one X user captioning it with an apparent reference to Larry: “I don’t want to be in the same building with him!” Another X user simply wrote: “Cats just know.”
Larry, a 17-year-old cat, has been the ‘chief mouser’ to the Cabinet Office since 2011. Known for his increasingly vocal political opinions, Larry has not shied away from playfully criticizing former prime ministers, as evidenced by a parody account on X that boasts nearly one million followers.
🇬🇧🇺🇦 “I don’t want to be in the same building with him!”
— Larry the Cat from Downing Street quickly left when Zelensky arrived
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo)
In 2022, the cat brushed against then-Prime Minister Liz Truss and made off down the street after Truss attempted to introduce Larry to Danish leader Mette Frederiksen.
Larry was also not a fan of Truss’ predecessor, Boris Johnson, taking pains to remind the public on social media that he was “not ‘Boris Johnson’s cat’” after Johnson mentioned him in his resignation speech.
Larry’s parody X account has also addressed the arrival of Starmer’s new Siberian-breed kitten, Prince. In September, Larry shared Starmer’s post featuring the first picture of Prince and confidently declared, “My position as best-looking cat on Downing Street remains unchallenged.”
Following his UK visit, Zelensky was scheduled to visit France and Italy later on Thursday, before meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz later the same day. He is seeking to secure more support for Kiev, particularly as US backing appears uncertain if Republican nominee Donald Trump wins November’s presidential election.