Popular train station cat gets Google Maps marker

An orange and white cat looks into the camera, it is sitting in an office with a desk visible behind itSimone Carter

George is a social media star, with 66,000 followers on X and 49,000 followers on Facebook

Louise Brierley
BBC Midlands Today

A cat that lives at a train station in the West Midlands has become so popular he has his own marker on Google Maps and even his own merchandise.

George the cat first started popping into Stourbridge Junction in 2017, and when his owner emigrated to Spain he was adopted by staff.

The 10-year-old moggy has become quite the celebrity thanks to his social media accounts and has fans that come to visit him from as far as the United States, Canada and Asia.

He has now been shortlisted for BBC Radio WM's Make a Difference Award.

George and the other finalists will find out if they have won at a ceremony at Birmingham Hippodrome on Monday 9 September.

A ginger and white cat being held by a man in a grey polo shirt that has West Midlands Railway embroidered on the left side. Behind there are pictures and calendars visible on the wall, including a drawing of the same cat

The ginger tom has a special bond with supervisor Ian Tomlinson, who agreed to adopt him when his owner emigrated

A ginger and white cat sleeps in a blue bed. In the foreground is a West Midlands Railway badge that says George, Senior Mouse CatcherSimone Carter

The 10-year-old moggy finds his role as the station's Senior Mouse Catcher exhausting

A google maps screengrab with an icon of a ginger and white cat that says George the Station Cat. The icon shows a 4.9 star rating based on 54 reviewsGoogle

George has become so popular that he has his own marker on Google Maps

George's official role is Senior Mouse Catcher, but he has a far bigger influence than the title suggests.

He helps to spread positivity with uplifting messages posted on his social media pages.

A percentage of the profits from his merchandise is given to local charities and lots of his treats are passed on to less fortunate cats.

In 2021 George's army of social media followers helped Stourbridge Junction win the World Cup of Stations award, which is run by the Rail Delivery Group.

Last year he played an active role in the campaign to save the ticket offices.

A woman in a grey cardigan, blue t-shirt and grey jeans crouches next to a ginger and white cat, stroking its back. They are outside a train station, next to a metal fence

Naomi White from Craven Arms follows George on social media and said he made "such a difference" to how she felt about the day

A mural showing a ginger and white cat on the left, it has a mouse riding on its tail. On the right side of the image is a surreal amalgam of spectacled eyes and grinning faces - the creature also has what appears to be a propeller as one of its two noses. In the top left the mural says Welcome to Stourbridge Station

A mural has been dedicated to George and staff at Stourbridge Junction

A ginger and white cat sits on a blue chair looking at a black beanie with a cat's face embroidered on itJoanne Thorpe

Local business Olivia-Mae Creations designs George themed hats, cups, coasters and calendars with some of the profits going to charity

George is the latest in a long tradition of railway station cats.

Supervisor Ian Tomlinson said there was another one at Stourbridge Junction many years ago, and at Smethwick West, Langley and Rowley Regis.

They were traditionally employed to keep the vermin down.

George currently lives at the station but when Mr Tomlinson retires, he will go to live with him.

A ginger and white cat sits at a rail station ticket counter

George likes to spend most of his time outside the ticket office

A ginger and white cat sitting outside a rail station. A sign saying Stourbridge Junction is visible in the background above a set of automatic doors

Sometimes the ginger tom likes to greet commuters as they arrive at the station

A ginger and white cat sits in a room filled with drawings which are mostly of cats

The ticket office at Stourbridge Junction is covered in artwork, cards and letters dedicated to George

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