'Beerikins' - A Beer Drinking Cat

I have a mild fascination and interest in the (nine) lives of brewery and pubs cats, so by chance I came across the following short tale from the late spring of 1909 while searching for same. It did the rounds of a number of newspapers at that time, where the story remained the same, although the headlines used varied a little ...

A CAT’S DRINKING HABITS 

The secret drinking habits of a cat, Beerikins, which came from brewery, are described by a correspondent who is now the owner the animal. Normally a basin of water with a lump of sulphur is the cat’s pet drink, and a saucer of beer he rejects. “But if,” writes the owner, “I chance to leave bottle beer on the table with the screw-stopper loose he takes measures of his own. I only knew it looking through the crack of the door. Two forepaws go round the neck of the bottle, the little white teeth go to work and release the stopper, then the bottle is turned over, and Beerikins mops up much as he fancies.”

Of course this might not be a true story but it does paint an interesting mental picture of what your cat may be doing when you are not watching, and it's a warning to those who might adopt a brewery or pub cat with a hidden taste for beer! Let's hope they never figure out ring-pulls ...

Interesting name for a cat too, and what about that sulphured water...?

Liam

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