Mural created for 'gallivanting Griffin' the cat

Artist Catman put up a mural for Griffin in Canterbury

A mural has been created for a well-known cat that had its own fan group on social media.

A fundraising page said Griffin, who spent a lot of time in and around the University of Kent campus in Canterbury, died after being hit by a car near the site.

An artist known as Catman, subsequently put up a tribute to "gallivanting Griffin" at Northgate next to The Penny Theatre after being tagged in a post about the cat - whose Facebook group had 7,600 members.

"The post was trying to reach out to Banksy to create a tribute mural of Griffin, knowing how much of a long shot that could be I decided to take it upon myself to create the tribute," he explained.

Catman, who never met Griffin, added: "From what I could see online it was easy to tell how much a tribute would mean to everyone so I didn't have a second thought in getting my paint cans together and creating the piece."

The fundraising page, which has raised almost £4,000 from about 300 donations, is also aiming to get a memorial bench installed at the university campus.

The University of Kent said it was in contact with the cat's owner and they had chosen a bench and a plaque "as Griffin would often sit on benches and meet people".

"We are currently trying to select the best spot on campus for the bench and it will most probably be installed sometime in the New Year", the university added.

Carla Hirlemann, who took the picture the mural was based on, said Griffin was a rescue cat from Romania.

"I don't think people appreciate how much joy this cat brought to people," she told BBC Radio Kent.

"It was just this kindness that Griffin had and he was just this character, he was just such a sweet-natured, curious young cat."

Ms Natalie said the mural was a "nice memory".

She added: "It [Griffin's page] connected everyone, everybody was constantly checking in on his page, he would literally just rock up at various different places and it was [a] 'where's Griffin today?' kind of thing, he's been all over the place.

"He's been in Herne Bay – I believe he caught a train once!"