Meet Betty the moggy who’s simply been promoted to ‘Junior Mouse Catcher’ at a UK practice station
A cat has been promoted to ‘Junior Mouse Catcher’ at a train station near Birmingham.
Betty was once a feral stray cat but now uses her expert hunting abilities at Sutton Coldfield Station on behalf of West Midlands Railway (WMR).
The moggy lives at Folklore Coffee and Bagels on platform 2 of the station and has been ’employed’ to maintain the mouse population, WMR said.
The feline was adopted by the cafe owner Alex Light in 2025, who discovered her living near an apartment block in the town centre as a stray with three kittens.
The kittens were found loving homes but Mr Light decided to keep Betty and domesticate the cat.
Zoe Hodgins, regional station manager at WMR, said: ‘We are very excited to have Betty on board. She’s proven she has a fantastic cat–titude and takes her daily duties – greeting customers, napping and warding off mice – very seriously.’
Betty’s work day is said to replicate that of the coffee shop, starting early and ending early.
She wakes up at 5.30am for a quick breakfast and then patrols around the station. By 7.30am, she returns to the cafe to ‘greet the commuters’, according to Mr Light.
Betty was a once a feral stray cat but now uses her expert hunting abilities at Sutton Coldfield Station on behalf of West Midlands Railway
The moggy lives at Folklore Coffee and Bagels on platform 2 of the station and has been ’employed’ to maintain the mouse population
The feline was adopted by the cafe owner Alex Light in 2025, who discovered her living near an apartment block in the town centre as a stray with three kittens
Her later patrols depend on the weather but she returns at lunch time for the shop’s closure.
As cafe staff prep for the next day, Betty patrols the station once again before returning for dinner and an early night.
Mr Light said, per the Express & Star: ‘She has a few favourite spots dotted around with a perching shelf by the till and a few comfy beds alongside the customer seating as well as a little quiet space away from everyone only accessible by cat flap.’
He added: ‘They say cats always land on their feet – and Betty certainly has with this role. She is really popular with customers and has her own Instagram account and it’s brilliant to see her hard work recognised by WMR.’
Betty is outranked by George, an orange tabby, who is Stourbridge Junction Station’s ‘Senior Mouse Catcher’.
He was given the position in 2021 and has had a Stourbridge Shuttle train named after him in 2025.
The tabby – who has a dedicated social media following of more than 100,000 people – similarly lives at the station but is owned by a WMR staff member.
