Feline Fun is written/compiled by
Patrick Roberts
Copyright © 2003-12 Purr 'n' Fur UK

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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.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Jun 2005

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. The pub's own site has a link to more information on the name. However, another pub of the same name in Gloucestershire (see Gallery 2) has a different theory about theirs.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Jun 2005

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.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Jun 2005

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.
Older sign 1997, courtesy Inn Sign Society.
Picture of the pub
Signs photographed Jun 2005

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. In the Victorian era, though, it became known informally to the locals as the 'Charlton Cat', and that is the name used today. Our thanks to Jean Jenkins for the photos of the latest signs. There is an interesting festival held at this pub: further information and history here.
Previous sign 2005.
Older sign 1995, courtesy Inn Sign Society.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Aug 2008, pub Jun 2005.

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.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Jun 2005

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.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Jun 2005

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. Dave Tylcoat has kindly supplied an old postcard image of the relief panel over the door.
Picture of the pub
An older photo of the pub from 1951 can be seen at Geograph, and also online is a large collection of postcards depicting the inn.
Signs photographed Aug 2007

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; it was said to result from an occasion when the landlord's cat returned home after an absence of several months!
Older sign 1999, courtesy Inn Sign Society.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Jun 2005

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.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Jun 2005

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!
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Jun 2005

The Mother Shipton is in the northern part of the county of Yorkshire, in the ancient town of Knaresborough, birthplace of the prophetess and soothsayer known as Mother Shipton, who lived from about 1488 to 1561. She was said to be remarkably ugly. She made a number of prophecies, mostly to do with her local region, although they were not published until some years after her death. Other foretellings of world events, allegedly made by her, were later proved to be forgeries. She's accompanied on the sign by her black cat.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed May 2009

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.
Picture of the pub
Signs photographed Jun 2005

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.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Jun 2005

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).
Older photos from mid-2005 can be seen here.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Oct 2006

The Cat's Whiskers is an urban pub in the Childwall district of the city of Liverpool. In 2010 it had been redecorated outside and had gained this fine new sign.
Previous sign 2005.
Older sign 1990, courtesy Inn Sign Society.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Oct 2010

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.
Older signs, early 1990s and 1980s, courtesy Inn Sign Society.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Jun 2005

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'!
Picture of the pub
Signs photographed Jun 2005

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.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Jun 2005

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.
Picture of the pub
Sign photographed Jun 2005