cats-in-york

York's Mystery Cats Podcast

sales@thecatgallery.co.uk (Alison Hanson) — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 21:51:20 GMT

Never far from a watchful feline eye

Listen to York Top 10's Podcast about York's Mystery Cats, their history, and the stories behind some of the cats you can spot around York, where you're never far from a watchful feline eye.

Written and presented by the author of the book York Local Knowledge: Must-Do Top Tens

Mystery Cats of York Podcast

A prowl around York's best-loved felines

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 22:04:38 GMT

York's Hidden History: A prowl around city cat trail

David Wilson hunts down some incredibly special York cats in this article from York Press, 2nd July 2023.

.... cats have a special place in the affections of many York people. Whether you’ve lived here for a long time, are a recent resident or tourist, you need to know that this city is full of cats.

For the full article go to A prowl around city cat trail

Gerald the Minster Cat Immortalised in Stone

Wed, 11 May 2022 23:32:26 GMT

A peaceful resting place for Gerald

Gerald was a striking Bengal cat who used to roam freely around the Minster precincts in York.

When he passed away in Autumn 2020, a crowdfunding campaign was started to create a permanent memorial to Gerald. This target was reached and surpassed within a matter of days!

It's been a long wait to see Gerald permanently on display, but on 6th May 2022, a quiet ceremony took place outside Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate as Gerald was unveiled in his new permanent location. Gerald was unveiled by Julian Norton, known to millions as the star of the long running TV series, The Yorkshire Vet. Others in attendance included Justine Spencer, Gerald's owner, York's current Lord Mayor/Lady Mayoress, Gerald's sculptor, Antony Bartyla and Ben Fry, York's Town Crier, who set the scene for the brief unveiling ceremony.

We think Gerald's statue will be a welcome surprise to the many visitor's to the Grade I Listed Holy Trinity Goodramgate. Aside from its age, Holy Trinity is known particularly for its box pews. It's Wikipedia page is worth a read, especially for the connection to LGBT history. He is Cat 28.

Welcome to the Brand New 2022 CatsinYork.com Website and Blog

info@thecatgallery.co.uk (Peter Hanson) — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 10:41:43 GMT

Featuring the Famous Cats Adorning York Buildings

CatsinYork.com was created in 2005 by Jon and Jo, two former residents of York who loved York and especially the multitude of cats on York buildings. Fast forward 17 years and The Cat Gallery are honoured to act as custodians of this website, with the aim of bringing York's growing status as a "City of Cats" to a wider audience.

The site we have inherited contains a multitude of fascinating information about the York cats. Our mission is to preserve and enhance this information, whilst bringing the site up to date with the additions and removals of recent times.

Watch this space for updates from April 2022.

One of the most popular walks in York is the, now famous, York Cat Trail. Sponsored by The Cat Gallery , this self-guided walk guides you to the York city centre cats and allows young and old alike to enjoy this fabulous city from a different perspective. Pick up the York Cat Trail leaflet from The Cat Gallery shop at 45 Low Petergate, YO1 7HT or from the Visit York Information Centre at YO1 7DT. Alternatively, you can download and print your own leaflet .

New Cat Unveiled - Gus the Theatre Cat

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 23:14:29 GMT

York's only Art Deco Theatre acquires a New Cat by Jonathan Newdick

The Joseph Rowntree Theatre, inspired by both the York Cat Trail and the T.S. Eliot poem "Gus, the Theatre Cat" decided to seek permission to put a cat on the front of their Grade II listed, art deco theatre.

Jonathan Newdick, sculptor of many of the Tom Adams era cats, was commissioned to produce a "different" cat and that is certainly what he has achieved. Gus is made from a silver nickel material used extensively during the art deco period and one which was a new medium for Jonathan. Gus' textured fur is sculpted in a way that gives a nod to art deco style icons like the Chrysler Building in New York. He will look simply stunning on a sunny evening.

Jonathan unveiled Gus to a small invited audience at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre on 14th April. He explained that planning permission for this non-standard addition to the building had taken 6 months, with planners initially frowning on Gus' proposed location on the prominent building frontage.

Permission was eventually granted once Jonathan explained why the cats' positioning was so important - it could be seen from outside the curtilage of the property - an important point for the York Cat Trail. Also, the location would allow the cat's gaze to be appropriately focused towards the Joseph Rowntree signage. Finally, the cat would be in full view as visitors approached the theatre. His playful pose and art deco stylised texture would help theatre visitors to forget the noise of the Haxby Road behind them and channel their thoughts towards a world of fantasy and escapism within the theatre.

The Joseph Rowntree Theatre is just over a mile from The Cat Gallery, where the York Cat Trail starts. If you have the time, Gus is well worth a visit, he is Cat 27.

Cats in York on ITV.com

devteam@squashedpixel.co.uk (Squashed Pixel) — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 12:14:04 GMT

We’ve been quiet for some time now, for which we apologise – sorry site! We’re no longer based in York and it’s been a busy time just lately, which basically adds up to not a lot of time for updating this site. But I’m here to change that – at least, for the moment.

Look ma! We’re on the telly!

It was a little while back now, but we were quite excited to be contacted by a television production company who were filming for ITV.com. They wanted to feature the Cats in York website on an episode of Web Lives, ITV’s first ever online series.

This particular episode followed a lady called Pip on a date in York. Pip suffered with a brain haemorrhage 12 years ago, which changed her life. This year she has been using online dating to get some romance back into her life. Her date, Jez, took Pip around the streets of York following our very own Cat Hunt!

Watch the episode on ITV.com to see for yourself: Web Lives: Episode 14.

Ghost cats?

Last year we were also contacted about a feature on Derek Acorah’s Ghost Towns Live in York, which ran from Friday, January 27th 2006 to Monday, January 30th 2006. We’re not sure if the cats were mentioned or not, but if you saw the programme and remember seeing something mentioned, please let us know!

New cats

Many thanks to those people who have e-mailed in to tell us about new stone cats they have seen in the York area. We’ve got some new photos to add to the site, so we’ll update the Cat Directory very soon!

That’s all for now. Hope everyone’s had a lovely summer!

Cats around the World

devteam@squashedpixel.co.uk (Squashed Pixel) — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 12:14:03 GMT

Earlier in the year, we were contacted by a Flickr user who told us about a photo they had found of a decorative cat on a building in Amsterdam – thank you, G.

We knew of a stone cat on a building in Brighton, so we decided to take more of a look around Flickr to see what else we could find. We found quite a few and posted links to loads more photos in our Flickr discussion board – take a look if you like!

If you’re a Flickr user and you have photos of some of the York cats, please feel free to join the Cats in York Flickr group and add your photos to the pool. We ask that you do not post photos from anywhere outside of York, as we would like to keep the group limited to the York cats. However, please feel free to contribute to our list of links to cats outside of York!

Cats in York featured in York Evening Press

devteam@squashedpixel.co.uk (Squashed Pixel) — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 12:13:58 GMT

Tom Adams' last cat up for charity auction

Jonathan Newdick, the sculptor who created many of the Tom Adams cats, has kindly donated the last cat commissioned by Tom to the Lord Mayor of York to be auctioned at the Valentine’s Ball on Saturday, February 16th, 2008.

The cat was commissioned to adorn the new flats at the location of the F. R. Stubbs building. We’d love to have seen the cat in pride of place on the new flats, but it’s great to see that the cat is going to a good cause – two good causes in fact! The proceeds from the auction will be shared between the Lord Mayor’s and Sheriff’s Charities, the York Blind and Partially Sighted Society and Martin House Children’s Hospice. I’m sure Tom would be happy to see his and Jonathan’s work continue to be part of what he used to call “the magic fabric of York”.

We’ve had a lot of interest in the cats through the website – a lot of people looking to get their own statuettes. So, you can expect quite a lot of interest in the auction!

For people who’d like to see more of Jonathan’s work, get along to this year’s York Open Studios, which is on April 4th, 5th and 6th. Jonathan will be taking part in the event and showing bronze versions of his cats in his studio. We used to visit as many studios as we could get to when we used to live in York. We can highly recommend it – there’s a lot of very talented artists in York.

Running the York Cat Trail during Lockdown April 2020

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 23:55:54 GMT

Explore the streets of York during lockdown, whilst also doing the York Cat Trail at speed!

How would you like to visit York and do our York Cat Trail, in only 12 minutes? Sounds impossible but it's a genuine offer, as you'll see if you watch this video. Not only do you get to see some of the sights of York and the Cat Trail cats, you also get to see what the streets of York are like under lockdown.

Besides being my daily exercise one day, the purpose of the video is really to provide a bit of light entertainment to anyone who has an interest in York or cats, so please feel free to share this content widely.

Running the York Cat Trail

Plough Inn's popular cats immortalised for city trail

sales@thecatgallery.co.uk (Alison Hanson) — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 13:13:31 GMT

A PUB’S two popular cats have been immortalised by a York sculptor and added to the city’s Cat Trail

The Plough Inn’s past and present pets, Tom, 17, and Georgie, who died five years ago aged 13, have been sculpted by York artist Jonathan Newdick and placed in the pub’s first floor windows.

Georgie and Tom are Cats 60 and 61 in the Directory.

See the full article from The Press

Low Ousegate cat returns home!

devteam@squashedpixel.co.uk (Squashed Pixel) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:20:31 GMT

We’re over the moon to announce that one of the oldest cat statuettes in York has been returned to its rightful place on Low Ousegate.

In August 2008, we heard the sad news that the black cat statuette above Johnson’s Dry Cleaning on Low Ousegate (Cat #12) had to be taken down in July over concerns for public safety.

This cat statuette, along with the ginger cat on the window sill of the building next door (Cat #13), are the oldest cat statuettes in York, dating at least as far back as the

1920s. We thought it would be a real shame to lose such an important piece of York’s vibrant history.

Since then, we have remained in touch with the City of York Council about the cat and their talks with the property owner about reinstalling him. Finally, earlier this month, we got the news that the little critter is back home!

We are very grateful to and thankful for the support of Cllr. Keith Hyman, who has been keeping us up to date with news about the missing cat. Keith is the proud owner of Jonathan Newdick’s first bronze cat, which sits happily in his lounge!

Cats in York featured in York Evening Press

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:14:00 GMT

Chris Titley at the Evening Press in York has done a write-up on the Cats in York website and it featured in today’s York Evening Press Diary. Chris has allowed us to republish the article here for our visitors to read. Enjoy!

‘Mad cat person’ logs on, by Chris Titley

YORK’S cats have been catalogued.

The many moggies that can be found perched on rooftops or crawling up office walls are now listed on a new website, www.catsinyork.org.uk

This is the brainchild of Jon Gibbins, 25, and “mad cat person” Jo Barrett, 24, who first came to York in 1999 to take degrees in electronic engineering with music technology at the university.

In the course of their courtship they became fascinated by the cat statuettes dotted around the city – and frustrated by the lack of a guide to them. So they made their own.

“No one knows the origins of all the cat statues, some of which may have been put in place as far back as the early 19th century,” their website explains. “Some may have been intended to attract people to a shop or simply to amuse children. Others may be to scare pigeons.”

The site goes on to detail the more recent additions, the signature of city architect Tom Adams.

You can even download a “cat hunt” – a walking guide to all York’s feline high spots.

Jon and Jo have discovered 22 statuettes, but note that some others may have fallen victim to cat burglars over the years.

Now they’d like your help. “We’d love to hear from people to improve on the information we already have,” Jon told the Diary.

“We have holes in the research, so if anyone who stumbles across the site is able to help, then that’s great.”

His favourite? “The kitten seen scaling the wall of a house on St Andrewgate.”

Oh, and their own cat statuette, which they intend to install on their new house – which is in Devon, as they have moved to Jon’s hometown.

Fabulous cat facts tomorrow.

Taken from ‘Mad cat person’ logs on by Chris Titley, archived on the York Press website. ‘Fabulous cat facts’ were published as part of the next day’s article, Brief encounter in York studio. Tom Adams was ‘delighted’ to see our site mentioned in the Evening Press Diary in a later article, When Scottie gave us a ring.

Cats Feature on BBC Radio York

sales@thecatgallery.co.uk (Alison Hanson) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:30:41 GMT

One from the Archive, an interview on Radio York

If you’re just tuning in from BBC Radio York, hello and welcome to the site!

I’ve just been on the wireless chatting to Al Ross, who, incidentally, I used to listen to on University Radio York when I was at uni! I’m just listening back to the show – as we’re no longer in York, I tend not to tune in normally!

It seems a lot of people have wondered about the two cats on Low Ousegate – our lovely cats #5 and #6. One story we heard said that the cats were put there to scare the pigeons or mice away from stock.

When we started researching the cats for this website, back in 2005, we spent some time looking through archives at York City Library (now Explore York). We found a small item in a copy of the York Evening Press from 1962 that mentioned the cats. It tells of a TV crew filming for a programme called “Discover Your City” that included a Mr. Robert Patterson of York Castle Museum talking about “many little-known corners and unusual trades in the city.”

The item continues:

“Two other York curiosities were the model cats which cling to the wall of a well-known provision shop in Low Ousegate. Mr Patterson was able to tell the visitors from AR-TV that they were put there in about 1920 on the orders of Sir Stephen Aitcheson, owner of the firm, who thought they would be attractive especially to customers’ children.”

Mr Patterson retired from the Museum in 1974 and unfortunately we haven’t been able to track him down.

Transmission date is unknown.

Getting your own cat statuette

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 12:14:07 GMT

We regularly get emails from people asking where they can get a cat statuette of their own. Here’s a little information about how to get your hands on one!

Jonathan Newdick

Many of the cat statuettes shown on our site were made by Jonathan Newdick, a sculptor based in York. He was commissioned by York architect Tom Adams to create various cat statuettes to adorn buildings he had designed.

Jonathan visited the RSPCA animal’s home in York and drew some sketches on which he based the statues. For more information on each cat’s origins, visit the Cat Directory.

Jonathan’s cats come in four designs and take about 6 weeks to make. His prices currently start around £400. For more information, you can contact Jonathan via his website, on 01904 415077 or go see his work on show at York Open Studios 2008: Jonathan Newdick ARBS.

Other sources around York

Also of interest might be the pottery in North Yorkshire called the Cat Pottery, which makes a vast range of ornamental cats. Check their website for more information: www.catpottery.co.uk.

There’s a shop on Stonegate in York called The Cat Gallery, which has loads of stuff for cat-mad connoisseurs to peruse! They have a new Garden and Outdoors section on their website, but there’s loads more to see! Check their website for more information: www.thecatgallery.co.uk.

The Cat Gallery moved 45 Low Petergate in Summer 2010.

Tom cat auction raises £550

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:01:03 GMT

We’ve just heard that the last of the Tom Adams cats fetched £550 for the Lord Mayor’s and Sheriff’s Charities when it was auctioned at the Valentine’s Ball on February 16th. More than £14,000 was raised by the event for the York Blind and Partially Sighted Society and Martin House Children’s Hospice.

The resin cat was bought by a gentleman from Essex, but we’re reliably informed that he said that he would ensure the cat would return to York in the future. As we mentioned before, we think it would have been fabulous to see the cat adorn the recently converted F. R. Stubbs building, but it just wasn’t meant to be. We hope to see the cat return to its city once more though, and become part of that “magic fabric” that Tom used to speak of. When it does return, we’ll be sure to add it to our cat directory.

Resin to be cheerful at cat auction (York Press).

A Belated Cat

sales@thecatgallery.co.uk (Alison Hanson) — Tue, 30 May 2006 23:11:59 GMT

Last of the Tom Cats?

In May, a new cat was unveiled in Kings Square, York. It can be seen scaling the walls of the Barnitts store, close to where our Cat #14 already sat. The new cat is one of many in York attributed to architect Tom Adams and accompanies a new ornate clock, decorated with a raised hand holding a hammer along with a bent nail. We’ve been informed that this cat should have gone up in 2005, but Tom experienced problems in getting planning permission.

While on a recent trip to York, we managed to find the new cat and take a snap of it, which now joins our Cat Directory as Cat #15.

Last of the ‘Tom’ Cats?

The new cat has been cited as being the very last cat attributed to the late Tom Adams. However, we know that there were plans for another cat to be placed on the new development at the site of the old ironmongers, F.R. Stubbs. The cat would be positioned to look out over the Merchant Adventurer’s Hall.

We’re still hoping that the proposed cat makes an appearance as another tribute to Tom’s fabulous work and as another of his contributions to what he called the ‘magic fabric’ of York.

Tribute to Tom Adams

Wed, 01 Feb 2006 01:22:42 GMT

It is with great sadness that we report that Tom Adams, one of York’s most recognised and loved citizens, and architect responsible for many of our beloved cat statuettes, passed away last weekend. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his family.

We feel privileged to have gotten to know Tom over recent months during our research into the cat statuettes. He truly was a kind and generous man, with a passion for his work, his city and his cats. He was an inspiration to many, including us. We hope that this website will help the world to experience some of Tom’s work.

Thank you, Tom, for everything you have given us and the city of York. You helped to make this website possible, and also to make that beautiful city even more bewitching. When we visited you, you told us we’d be back to York despite moving to Devon. You were absolutely right, and we will remember you every time we return to the city.

Rest in peace, Tom.

Farewell to the Black Cat Man | York Press