What's with the cat? 
There once were two cats from Kilkenny Each thought there was one cat too many. So they fought and they fit And they scratched and they bit And instead of two cats, there ain't any!Kilkenny people are traditionally known as The Cats. The historic reason for this is open to argument. So let's argue.
Version 1. (The Real Story). Over the centuries, soldiers have been stationed in Kilkenny, which is in a strategic location. At one stage, either during the revolution of 1798 or possibly that of 1803, the legend was born (or was it?). To relieve the boredom in barracks, the soldiers here at the time would tie two cats together by their tails, hang them over a washing line and leave them to fight. You had to make your own entertainment in those days. One day an officer heard the awful noise and the look-out man failed to give warning of his approach in time. Hurriedly, a soldier cut off the cats' tails to let them escape, but wasn't able to hide the evidence of the two tails left behind. The officer was told that two cats had been fighting each other so savagely it had proved impossible to separate them and that they had fought so desperately that they had eaten each other up, with the exception of their tails. The moral of the story is that Kilkenny people will fight to the end.
Version 2. (Ancient Legend). Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a battle near Kilkenny, between a thousand cats from the city and a thousand cats that had gathered from all over Ireland. This left the field of battle covered with dead moggies, they having fought so viciously that they had all killed each other. This may be based on historical disagreements at the time between the people of the Kilkenny area and other parts of Ireland. Now we are pussy cats and welcome every one.
Version 3. (The Historical Context). In the fourteenth century, Kilkenny was divided into two townships called Irishtown and Englishtown, a common situation in a country occupied for so long by the English. For religious, cultural and political reasons there were deep divisions between the two groups. These were made worse because the rights and duties of the two townships hadn't been made clear by statute. This led to three centuries of dispute between the rival municipal bodies that ended in beggaring both sides. Thus the people from the different parts of Kilkenny city were always at each others throats.
Regardless of where the phrase started, two people furiously fighting with each other are sometimes described as fighting like Kilkenny cats. This has become a mark of honour for the people of Kilkenny. We're proud to have our cat welcome you on our web site.