Feline Fun is written/compiled by
Patrick Roberts
Copyright © 2003-08 Purr 'n' Fur UK
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British pub signs featuring cats
Gallery 3
Begin browsing the galleries below, or see the index of names and locations,
where links will take you straight to a sign or name of interest.
We also have a short article about the history of inn signs here.
More signs in
Gallery 1 Gallery 2 Gallery 4 Gallery 5
Gallery illustrations
Left-click a thumbnail for an enlargement.
In many cases pictures of a pub or other signs are available from text links.
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This clever, contemporary interpretation of the traditional Cat & Fiddle name is to be found at what looks to be quite a small pub in the centre of the Merseyside town of Bootle. The pub is situated at the foot of one of two large high-rise office blocks. |
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The Cat & Custard Pot: surprisingly, perhaps, this is the second pub we found with this unusual name. Although close to the busy port of Folkestone on England's south coast, the village of Paddlesworth, where this small pub is to be found, is very peaceful and rural. |
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Strictly speaking 'Catcracker', which refers to industrial plant used in the refining of petroleum, is not a feline name; however, as the pub sign features a cat prominently on top (white on one side, grey on the other), it gains a place in our gallery. The Catcracker is in Stanford-le-Hope, in the county of Essex — and of course there's an oil refinery not far away. |
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The county town of Norfolk is of course Norwich, and there is another Cat and Fiddle in the city centre. This is a large pub, with a suitably large and attractive sign featuring a fiddler dressed in what looks like the best gypsy tradition. There is also a smaller sign with pawmarks. |
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Between the towns of Andover in Hampshire and Devizes in Wiltshire, in the south of England, the Charlton Cat has existed on the present site in the village of Charlton St Peter since 1821; although there was an alehouse there many years before that. Its official name was the Poores Arms: and that coat of arms included a leopard — hence the sign. In the Victorian era, though, it became known informally to the locals as the 'Charlton Cat', and that is the name used today. There is an interesting festival held at this pub: further information here. |
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The Cats is an archetypal country pub tucked away off the beaten track in the tiny village of Woodham Walter in the south-eastern county of Essex, near the town of Danbury. It's said to be so called because cats are good lickers — and there are good liquors inside the pub! There is a large model cat to greet visitors at the front, and see also the 'cat' perched on the roof. It looks a delightful place and is in a beautiful setting. |
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Hindley is situated south-east of the Lancashire town of Wigan, and the Red Cat — actually in Hindley Green, bordering the town of Leigh — is one of five that we know of altogether. All but one of them are in the county of Lancashire. |
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Cat & Fiddle: the village of Hinton Admiral is close to Christchurch, a town on the south coast of Hampshire. As can be seen from the pictures, the two sides of the sign show the traditional nursery rhyme and a literal 'cat and fiddle' — while the pub itself is a superb example of a thatched building. |
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The Cat's Back, a small suburban pub close to the river Thames in the south London district of Wandsworth. An unusual name and an unusual sign. |
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We've had the 'Romping Cats' — now here's the Rampant Cat, although he doesn't look too threatening! This small country pub is to be found in the small Berkshire village of Broad Layings, to the west of London in the region of Newbury. |
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Definitely a 'different' interpretation of the Cat & Fiddle, this humorous sign announces the pub of that name in the Hertfordshire town of Hatfield, north of London. A worthy addition to the most common of the 'cat' pub signs! |
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The second Hertfordshire Cat & Fiddle is in Radlett, near the ancient city of St Albans. This is a cosy and busy pub, with a sign showing all the players in the traditional nursery rhyme; and inside is an astonishing collection of ornamental cats filling every shelf, nook and cranny. Even the doors to the dartboard case in the bar have a depiction of the fiddling cat — this one playing a double bass — and there are more cats on the outside of the building. Definitely worth a visit for cat lovers. |
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The Owl & Pussycat: this town pub with the delightful sign is in the Bethnal Green district of east London. It is housed in a rather splendid building — a bit distorted by the wide-angle photograph (it's a narrow street) — and has become something of a popular venue for people from the City. |
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Previously known as the 'Shotz Cat', during 2006 this pub was refurbished again and has now been renamed as the Red Cat, with a great new sign. It is situated in Greasby, a village on the Wirral on the western outskirts of the city of Birkenhead (across the river Mersey from Liverpool). |
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The Cat's Whiskers: this pub in the Childwall district of Liverpool was perhaps not looking its best on a grey Sunday morning. However, it does have an attractive sign. |
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Mad Cat: the only pub we know with this name is in the village of Pidley, in Cambridgeshire. Asked the origin of the name, the landlady said that many years ago it was known as the 'White Lion'. However, when a new sign was commissioned the animal depicted didn't look much like a lion, and someone remarked that it looked more like a mad cat! The name stuck and so today it remains the Mad Cat. |
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This amusing and original sign is to be found outside the Fat Cat in the East Anglian town of Ipswich, in the county of Suffolk. Note also the other sign declaring 'Free Mouse'! |
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The second Red Cat in the county of Lancashire is in the unusually named village of Crank, to the north of the town of St Helens. There is no pictorial sign as such. |
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The Old Fat Cat: this large town pub is in the northern part of the port city of Southampton, in Hampshire on England's south coast. |
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Gallery 1 Gallery 2 Gallery 4 Gallery 5
Cats that Got Away
Alphabetical list of pubs and locations
Short history of British pub signs
Notes and Anecdotes
Additional information about particular 'cat signs' or pubs
(cross-linked with gallery entries)
If you know of any more pub signs depicting cats,
or have information about sign or name changes,
please
!
All additions to or suggestions for the gallery gratefully received.
You might like to read about the adventures of Fleetwood who has visited over 60 pubs in Scotland and England with his humans
Grateful thanks are due to the Inn Sign Society for supplying and permission to reproduce images
of many older pub signs from their archive. Where appropriate these are acknowledged in the text above,
but otherwise all photos are our own except where indicated.
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Our featured feline at the head of the page, shown having quite a lot of fun, is Ragamuffin, or 'Rags' for short: sadly he is no longer with us. A cat of great character, who seemed to live by the maxim 'Life is for living', it was devastating for me when that life was cut short by a road accident. A 'rescue' cat, he lived with me in North Wales for less than four years only. You can see a little tribute to him here — and a more flattering photo.
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