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This page is about the various small black cat graffiti, in Basingstoke.
It was first published by Andrew Watten, on 2021-04-29.
Several years ago, I noticed some little black cat graffiti, under various bridges and underpasses, within the Basingstoke ring-road. I have been unable to prove when they appeared, but I think it was at some point between 2002 and 2008. They may have existed before 2002, but I did not notice them until after this point. I also proved one existed in 2008 via Google Street View, see the corner of the Anvil.
When I first noticed the cats, I asked a few people about them, but nobody had even seen them. Over the years, they began to disappear and I forgot all about them. Then in April 2021, I saw one again and so asked the Basingstoke History Facebook group if anyone knew anything about them. There were several responses and this inspired us to go out and hunt for them. As of 2021-04-29 we have managed to find 7 of them by looking around and via suggestions on the Facebook group.
As to why these cats were put there, we do not really know. It has been suggested that they were just done for a laugh, but have had no confirmed reason.
The following picture shows a map detailing all cat sightings so far. Click on the image for a larger picture.
If you know of any other black cat sightings, then please email us at blackcats@watten.net and we can add them to the map. Also please let us know if you know anything else about the black cats, especially why and when they were created.
© Andrew Watten 2021