Larry the Cat 'happy and healthy' after reports that he was seriously unwell

Growing fears that Downing Street's chief mouser is seriously unwell have been put at ease after a government official told ITV News that the elderly cat is 'happy and healthy'.

It comes after reports that the 16-year-old cat, who has served throughout the premiership of five prime ministers, had been unwell for some time.

A Downing Street spokesman told ITV News: "I would say he is happy and healthy."

Writing on X, formerly known as twitter, an account with 834K followers identifying as Larry the Cat poked fun at officials stating that he was both 'happy and healthy'.

The account wrote: "I’m healthy, but you try being happy after living with five Tory Prime Ministers."

Larry was initially adopted from Battersea in 2011 as a pet for David Cameron's children.

However, he stayed on in his current, extremely important mouser role when Cameron stepped down in 2016.

The Downing Street website says: “Larry spends his days greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences and testing antique furniture for napping quality.

“His day-to-day responsibilities also include contemplating a solution to the mouse occupancy of the house.”

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.