Mischievous cat steals Dean of Canterbury’s pancakes during morning prayer

A cathedral cat with a taste for fame has made a nuisance of himself once again – this time by tucking into a plate of pancakes during morning prayer.

Tiger the cat is seen nuzzling the Dean of Canterbury as he reads a sermon before losing interest and turning his gaze elsewhere.

He spots something interesting on a nearby table – pancakes.

The cheeky feline who last year fleeced some milk during another video sermon, then sets about sampling the tasty batter treats in honour of Pancake Day.

The Very Reverend Dr Robert Willis smiles as he finishes his speech, closes the book and gives his furry friend a scratch.

The dean says: “Well Tiger has found some breakfast, it’s Pancake Day for him as well so we’re not too sorry about that.”

He added later: “Like the rest of us on Pancake Day, Tiger was getting his temptations out of the way before Lent begins tomorrow.”

Tiger is one of several cats who live at Canterbury Cathedral and he is not the only one to have got up to mischief during video-recorded morning prayers.

Last year he was seen leaping up to the dean as he led the service, lapping up the vicar’s milk with a paw.

Some weeks before, his four-legged pal Leo became a viral sensation after brazenly disrupting yet a different recording of morning prayers.

Oblivious to the sincere proceedings being conducted, Leo was caught on camera wandering into view before disappearing beneath the Dean of Canterbury’s robes.

Somehow keeping a straight face, the dean managed to avoid a feline fiasco and continued with his sermon.

But while Leo is “undoubtedly the comedian” of the Deanery’s four cats, he nonetheless takes his role as an ambassador “very seriously”, a cathedral spokesman said.

Not content to let the cats have all the fun, cathedral rooster Russell Crow showed perfect comic timing during morning prayers in July last year.

In a moment of sublime serendipity, the dean read out: “And immediately while he was still speaking the cock crowed…”

And at that very moment, Russell did indeed crow, interrupting the clergyman loudly and clearly.

Even without the animals’ impromptu appearances, the Kent cathedral’s online services have proved extremely popular during lockdown to provide comfort and solace in difficult times.