I HAVE been fascinated to read of the recent power struggles taking place between No 10 and the Foreign Office. There are ambushes, brawls and tactical withdrawals all taking place under the watchful eyes of the police officers on duty, some of whom have even been called to intervene when things get too bloody. This is, of course, not an early breakdown of relations between our new PM and Foreign Secretary (indeed those seem to be going swimmingly) but the struggle for territorial dominance between Larry, the tabby No 10 Chief Mouser, who has been in residence since 2011, and Palmerston, a sleek black and white (neutered) tom who recently arrived at the Foreign Office, again to deal with their rodent problem.

There is another contender stalking the neighbourhood too in the form of Gladstone, a new feline addition to the Treasury team and, as all of these buildings are hugger-mugger in Whitehall with many an alleyway to scrap in, it looks like being a torrid summer.

I have met Larry on many an occasion, usually sprawled out on a crochet blanket on top of the radiator covers in the No 10 hall and although the doormen say that he is a lazy whatsit, my money is on him to win through as he has already seen off one rival in the form of Freya the Chancellor’s cat, who briefly took up residence at No 11 before being retired to a country home.

Like the best battles there is another potential front to consider if Philip Hammond the new Chancellor moves in Rex his Welsh terrier, a breed not known to coexist well with cats, so we can expect more fur to fly before this is all resolved.

All of the cats involved in the Whitehall wars were adopted from Battersea Cats and Dogs Home and I can attest to Larry’s credentials as his photo was featured prominently above the luxury cages when we recently visited in search of our own feline friends.

Our much loved and irreplaceable Labrador ZinZan finally had to be put to sleep after 15 outstanding years of companionship but the house seems so empty without the patter of paws that I was persuaded by the children’s pleas for a new pet.

We searched local centres and Battersea without success before going to the North London Cats Protection shelter where we found and adopted two adult marmalade cats, Cinnamon and Casper. Unlike the bruisers in Parliament, these boys have perfect manners and already they are settled in, much loved and right at home.