英國首相府迎來新任“第一貓”

British Prime Minister David Cameron unveiled the newest recruit to 10 Downing Street on Tuesday: a cat cAlled Larry with a "very strong predatory drive" for catching rodents。

The four-year-old tabby joined Cameron and his family from London's Battersea Dogs and Cats Home to tackle pest control issues after a rodent was spotted on the steps of the most famous front door in the land。

Just last month the government said there were no plans to bring in a new cat, but the prime minister's official spokesman said Tuesday that Cameron had "certainly been persuaded that it was a good idea"。

"Whilst in Battersea's care, Larry showed a very strong predatory drive and enjoyed playing with toy mice," the spokesman said。

"Before coming to Battersea, Larry was a stray so he was used to fending for himself in the streets。

"Nothing is ever guaranteed but his behaviour at Battersea convinced staff that he'll be up for the job of ratting."

Larry's appointment comes after a rat was spotted in two television news bulletins scurrying around outside the black door of the prime minister's residence in central London。

There has been no Downing Street cat since Sybil, who moved in with then Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling in 2007 but returned to Edinburgh after six months, having failed to settle in central London。

Sybil was the first cat to live in the street since the legendary Humphrey, a stray who took up residence under prime minister Margaret Thatcher and outstayed John Major。

Tony Blair sent Humphrey into retirement in 1997 amid persistent speculation that his wife Cherie forced him out。

Humphrey was on the payroll, receiving £100 (160 dollars, 117 euros) a year from the Cabinet Office budget。

But with Cameron's coalition government facing public anger over sweeping cuts to public services, there was no immediate word on where funding for Larry would come from。英國首相大衛•卡梅倫本週二宣佈，首相府唐寧街10號新任“第一貓”拉里走馬上任，而且“捕鼠幹勁兒十足”。

這隻4歲的斑貓來自倫敦(動物收容所)“巴特西貓狗之家”。它加盟卡梅倫一家是爲了解決首相府的鼠患之憂。此前，人們曾發現一隻老鼠在英國最有名的首相府邸臺階上出沒。

就在上月，英國政府還表示無意“招聘”一隻新貓，但首相官方發言人本週二表示，卡梅倫已經“接受了這一建議，覺得這主意還不錯”。

這位發言人說：“在巴特西貓狗之家時，拉里就展現出強烈的捕鼠意願，而且喜歡逗玩具鼠。”

“去貓狗之家前，拉里是隻流浪貓，得在街上自己找食吃。”

“現在還不敢打包票，但它在貓狗之家的表現使大家深信它已經準備好上任捕鼠了。”

拉里走馬上任前，人們曾在兩段電視新聞中看到倫敦中部首相府邸的黑門外，有隻老鼠躥來躥去。

自從“西比爾”離任後，唐寧街第一貓的“職位”一直空缺。西比爾在2007年和前任財政部長阿里斯代爾•達林一起來到這裏，但6個月之後就回到了愛丁堡，沒能在倫敦中部長住。

在西比爾之前，唐寧街“第一貓”是富有傳奇色彩的流浪貓漢弗萊。漢弗萊的女主人是前任首相瑪格利特•撒切爾，直到約翰•梅傑卸任時它還在唐寧街。

託尼•布萊爾在1997年讓漢弗瑞“退休”，一直有猜測認爲是他的妻子切麗趕走了它。

漢弗萊在任時，每年還領取100英鎊(合160美元，117歐元)的薪水，由內閣辦公室支付。

卡梅倫領導的聯合政府正因削減公共服務支出而面臨指責，因此誰給拉里撥款還不清楚。