Between sounding the alarm about tough times ahead, mending relations with Europe and battling claims of cronyism, Sir Keir Starmer has had another rammed week.

For those concerned that the stresses of the job may become too much for the prime minister there was, however, happier news. Downing Street is soon to hear the patter of tiny feet, and it is not Rishi Sunak retrieving the Prada loafers he left in the shoe rack. As revealed exclusively in this newspaper, the Starmers are on the lookout for a kitten.

First to hear was the audience at the Aye Write book festival in Glasgow, where Tom Baldwin, the prime minister’s biographer and friend, let slip the news.

It was a surprise for a couple of reasons. The Starmers have a cat, Jojo, who lives in the family home. Downing Street is the domain of Larry, and has been since 2011. Where the new kitten fits into this crowded set-up of animals known for their fierce territorialism is, like the contents of the looming Budget, unknown.

During the election campaign, Sir Keir said his children were lobbying for a dog as the price of moving into the goldfish bowl of Number 10. Dog, cat, kitten, what is it to be?

It is a safe bet some reporter will ask, such is the abiding fascination with pets in politics. Go back through history and across the globe, and you will see that behind many a big political beast stands a cat rolling its eyes or a dog with a squeaky toy in its gob.

Tales about politicians and their pets go back to the days of Henry VIII. It took the arrival of newspapers to properly bring the subject to life. Punning journalists, especially from Scottish newspapers, have put in sterling service down the years reporting on the antics of animals that have strayed close to power - sometimes to the cost of the poor creatures themselves.

Read more Alison Rowat

Having a pet brings a lot of joy, but occasionally there is sorrow, too. Much of the trouble stems from the little stinkers going walkabout. Take the story of Topsy, Arthur Balfour’s cat, one of many fished out of the files of the British Newspaper Archive.

After Topsy went missing, the Dundee Evening Telegraph of 7 January 1903 issued an appeal for information. “She was last seen in the education department, and it is feared she has been inadvertently embodied in the new act, as Clause 20.” (I did warn you about the puns.) Lloyd George’s Welsh terrier, Cymro, inherited his master’s tendency to wander. One day in 1918 Cymro went missing while the prime minister was addressing a meeting in Surrey. A £5 reward was offered and the dog was found safe and well.

Pets were not always a source of anxiety. Some were hailed as comforts to the public in troubled times. The Press & Journal had a soft spot for Bob the black cat, crediting him with giving Downing Street a “homely touch” in the months before the outbreak of war in 1939. The same paper reported that a fish in John Major’s constituency home had to be treated for sunstroke.

If it’s the top dog of pet scandals you are after, the catty di tutti catty has to be Cherie Blair and the mysterious disappearance of Humphrey the Downing Street cat.

Soon after the Blairs entered Number 10, some keen-eyed sort reported that Humphrey was nowhere to be seen. Rumours took hold that Mrs Blair, being allergic to cats, had insisted he be retired, or as it said in the more alarmist papers “retired”. Not true, and to prove he was not sleeping with the fishes a lovely photo of Humphrey with Mrs Blair was released, together with details of his new home in the suburbs.

Humphrey’s story goes to show that pets can be the source of bad publicity as well as good. On the upside, they make their owners look kind, generous, relatable and laid-back. Pet hair, who cares?

But pets can also reflect badly on their humans. Commander, Joe Biden’s German shepherd, was said to have been involved in at least two dozen biting attacks on Secret Service staff before he was rehomed. Hardly a display of responsible ownership by the commander-in-chief.

Tales of Boris Johnson’s dog Dilyn running amok reminded observers of his owner’s ill-discipline. And who can forget Vladimir Putin ushering his pet into a meeting with Angela Merkel, whose terror of dogs was well-known?

Nicola Sturgeon is afraid of dogs, though not perhaps to the same extent. A 2019 tweet showed the former First Minister out campaigning, a miniature Schnauzer close by. “Overcoming my fear of dogs for the vote SNP cause,” said the caption.

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That is her very good reason for not having a dog. Donald Trump has no such excuse. Trump was rare among US presidents in refusing all offers of a pet. At least one New York Times columnist was appalled. “Is it so wrong to think,” they opined, “that his character might have been changed if there were a dog beneath his roof?”

Then again, one cannot picture Donald, far less Melania, following any dog around at 10pm with a poo bag. Notoriously germophobic, Trump won’t shake people’s hands if he can help it, far less pick up after a dog. A mutt could have been good for fundraising, though. Think of the merch.

Keir Starmer seems more of a cat person, even if he did once complain in an interview that Jojo was worshipped while good old dad was just the butt of family jokes. ‘Tis the same the world over, prime minister.

Downing Street watchers will be keeping an eye on the animal comings and goings in the area. Whatever happens, the staff will be ready. It emerged last week that Whitehall even has a plan in place for the passing of 17-year-old Larry, including the release of official photographs.

In the event of that sad occurrence, and after a suitable period of mourning, a new kitten or a puppy could be just the ticket. Anything will do - but perhaps not a parrot. Loose beaks sink Budgets and all that.