Freya is a tabby cat owned by former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, his wife and their two children. In 2009, when Freya was a few months old, she went missing from the Osbornes' house in Notting Hill. The family searched West London for her and put up posters, but they were unable to find her. The family eventually gave up, assuming she had been lost or died. In early June 2012, Frances Osborne received a call telling her Freya was alive and living in a garden near her family's former Notting Hill house. She had been fed and looked after by a neighbour. After bringing Freya to their home above 10 Downing Street, the Osbornes introduced her to the Cameron family's cat, Larry. A Treasury spokesman stated, "She is settling in nicely and getting on well with family, staff and Larry." Freya was then allowed outside to explore her surroundings.
Career
On 16 September 2012, Nigel Nelson from The People reported the Prime Minister David Cameron had sacked Larry from his position as Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office and installed Freya instead. Nelson revealed that Cameron had become fed up with Larry's laziness. It had taken him six months to make his first kill, and a Daily Mail reporter commented that it appeared he had not made any since. Cameron decided to replace Larry when he refused to move from his chair to chase a mouse on September 13. 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 is a "tougher" and a "more street-wise predator." Freya was reported to be the more dominant cat over Larry and a more effective mouser, reportedly because her days as a stray had "hardened" her. The Daily Mail reporter wrote that Freya and Larry would "job share" to spare any hurt feelings. Freya has become one of 100,000 cats employed by the Government to keep the number of mice down. On 16 October 2012, police had to break up a fight between Larry and Freya outside Number 10. Rosa Prince from The Daily Telegraph reported that Freya "appeared to have the best of the confrontation". 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. In May 2014, Freya strayed over a mile from Downing Street and had to be rescued and returned by a charity worker. In August 2014, Freya was hit by a car in Whitehall and was subsequently treated by a vet. George Osborne said he was "very grateful" to those who came to the aid of his pet. Following these events, Freya was sent to the Kent countryside to allow her to exercise her desire to roam.
