Freya (cat)

Freya (c. April 2009 – 4 August 2022) was a cat who was employed as the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office from 2012 to 2014 as the pet of the chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, and his family. In September 2012, Freya shared the role of chief mouser to the Cabinet Office with Larry. In November 2014, Freya was retired from the position to the Kent countryside but ended up staying in the Oval area of London. She died on 4 August 2022.[1]

Freya
Freya in 2012
Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office
In role
16 September 2012 – 9 November 2014
Serving with Larry
Monarch
Prime Minister
Preceded bySybil (2009)
Succeeded byLarry
Personal details
Bornc. April 2009 (2009-04)
London
Died4 August 2022(2022-08-04) (aged 13)
London
OccupationMouser
GenderFemale
Owned byGeorge Osborne
NamesakeFreyja

Early life and career

Freya went missing from the Osbornes' house in Notting Hill when she was just a few months old, and after searching West London for her, the family assumed she had died or had become lost. In June 2012, Osborne's wife Frances received a call telling her that Freya was alive, and the family brought her home.

On 16 September 2012, Nigel Nelson from The People reported that the prime minister, David Cameron, had sacked Larry from his position as chief mouser to the Cabinet Office and installed Freya instead. Nelson claimed that Cameron had become fed up with Larry's laziness.[2] Nelson explained:

The final straw came on Thursday when Mr Cameron caught Larry cat-napping on his chair in his No.10 study as another mouse scurried across the room. When he tried to wake Larry to do his duty one eye opened but the moggy wouldn't budge.

Cameron drafted in Freya to patrol Numbers 10, 11 and 12 Downing Street as she was a "tougher" and a "more street-wise predator."[2] Freya was reported to be the more dominant cat over Larry and a more effective mouser, reportedly because her time as a stray had "hardened" her.[3]

In October 2012, police had to break up a fight between Larry and Freya outside Number 10.[4] The Daily Telegraph reported that Freya "appeared to have the best of the confrontation".[5] The prime minister's spokeswoman stated that Freya and Larry were able to "co-exist" and added that she would not comment further on the two cats' adventures.[6]

In May 2014, Freya strayed over a mile from Downing Street and had to be rescued and returned by a charity worker.[7] In August 2014, Freya was hit by a car in Whitehall and was subsequently treated by a vet. Osborne said that he was "very grateful" to those who came to the aid of his pet.[8] Following these events, Freya was sent to the Kent countryside to allow her to exercise her desire to roam.[9] In February 2015 she moved to the Oval area of London, to live with the Head of Government Hospitality, Robert Alexander.[10]

Death

The operator of the Palmerston Twitter account (the Foreign Office cat) tweeted that Freya died in 2022.[11]

See also

References
  1. @PalmerstonCat (20 February 2023). "Lost my beloved Freya today. Her suffering was brief. Her spirit indomitable. Her beauty undiminished. @Number10cat RIP Lady Freya of the Oval (and formerly of Downing Street)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Nelson, Nigel (16 September 2012). "Larry the Downing St cat shunted by PM for being a useless mouse catcher". The People. Trinity Mirror. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  3. Parkinson, Justin (16 October 2012). "Downing Street denies Cameron and Osborne cat feud". BBC. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  4. Barkham, Patrick (17 October 2012). "The Downing Street catfight: is there more to it than meets the eye?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  5. Prince, Rosa (16 October 2012). "Police called to break up violent cat fight in Downing Street". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  6. Parkinson, Justin (16 October 2012). "Downing Street denies Cameron and Osborne cat feud". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  7. "George Osborne's cat rescued by homelessness worker". BBC News. 28 May 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  8. "Chancellor George Osborne's cat Freya hit by car". BBC News. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  9. Dearden, Lizzie (9 November 2014). "George Osborne's family cat Freya sent away from Downing Street to Kent". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 December 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  10. @GHSupremo (22 February 2015). "Newest addition to the Alexander household! Behold!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. @PalmerstonCat (8 August 2022). "Some sad news has just reached me on this #InternationalCatDay . Poor Freya, the much loved cat who lived at #No11DowningStreet when George Osborne was #Chancellor has gone #otrb .We'll all mourn her passing and remember fondly her playful fights with @Number10cat" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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