Titus - Autumnal Master of Catmouflage

Cat Tales of TW8 - the search for THE Brentford Cat

Titus

Anyone who walks or drives past St Paul’s recreation ground on a regular basis is familiar with Titus. It’s pretty hard to miss him for most of the year on account of the fact that he’s bright orange and the size of an ox. In the autumn, however, drivers have to be extremely wary because, as you can see from the photo, his fur is exactly the same colour as the fallen leaves from the park’s linden trees. In most situations this would be regarded as excellent protection against predators, but Titus has no predators on account of being larger than most living creatures. He sits proudly atop the food chain, and he knows it.

Titus has quite a reputation and is probably the most photographed individual in Brentford, which, in many ways, suggests that he may well already be The Brentford Cat. He can often be found perched high on a wall, surveying the football fans as they walk towards Griffin Park on match days, but he is equally at home lying in the road, not bothering to move out of the way of cars and not caring that they have to swerve around him. He is also known for his altercations with other animals, often his neighbour Rocky (an equally large and fearsome ginger cat) but also the occasional fox. Yes, Titus takes on foxes and wins. He is the Anthony Joshua of cats.

Now, I have to confess that I have been stalking observing Titus for quite some time. The first time that I saw him, lounging languidly in the shade of a large vehicle, I had to stop and take pictures. And, as bad luck would have it, that was the precise moment that my husband and his colleague drove past and saw me crouching in the middle of the road with my phone in my hand. My husband’s initial concern - when he thought I had been in a car accident and was taking photos of the evidence - soon turned to deep, deep shame when he realised that I was, in fact, photographing a massive orange cat asleep under a 4x4. That one photo somehow sparked a whole collection of Titus photos, with me powerless to resist taking more and more each time I passed him in the street. In fact, the morning after one fizz-fuelled night at The Griffin, I found 36 photos of Titus on my camera roll that I didn’t remember taking.

Titus has been living with his Cat Daddy since he was a kitten. I found this out last week after finally plucking up the courage to knock on his door and ask his permission for Titus to be featured in TW8. Surprisingly, my candid approach of, “Hello, you don’t know me but I have been photographing your cat for years” seemed to work as an opener, and I didn’t need to ask for any photos to accompany this article as my camera roll is already packed full of them.

So here he is, showing his skill at the art of catmouflage. Drivers, please be vigilant!

If you like cats, especially French ones, you might like to take a look at my blog: JeSuisLeRoiSoleil

Cat Mamma of TW8

If you know of any other magnificent cats of TW8 who may be worthy of the lofty position of The Brentford Cat, I would love to hear from you.

November 2, 2018