Need info on "Cats Paw" sole on thrifted Fred Norton, made in England shoes

Cat's Paws were like an old sort of topy, really.

Not really. Cat's Paw was/is a well-known and respected brand of rubber product for shoe repair and shoemaking. They do make a Topy analogue...which I think is actually better than Topy...but they also made a full range of heels and outsoling.

At one time, Cat's Paw was the one of the most prevalent and iconic brands.

It's kind of funny...years ago when people in the Trade got together, casually and joking around, it was almost a secret code--you'd make a flat fist to resemble the cats' paw below and swipe it through the air with a short "meow." And then everybody who was in the know would say "Cat's Paw!"

C.P. was a great brand of rubber. As far as I know they have been defunct for about 20 years now.
I heard mention that an Oriental company bought the name and is attempting to resurrect the brand. We'll see....

Nick,

I mostly use leather for outsoles and Vibram for heels, but I just got a large sheet of Cat's Paw sole guard. Is it old stock? I doesn't feel like it's old...doesn't have that dry, UV oxidized surface.

DWFII--

I just confirmed this with my main supplier. Most of it you probably already knew:

Decades ago their were a few large rubber companies manufacturing for the shoe repair industry. Cat's Paw and Biltrite were among the largest.
About 25 years ago Biltrite bought out Cat's Paw. About 10 years later, Quabaug (they manufacture for Vibram) bought out Biltrite. Quabaug has been manufacturing sole guards with the Cat's Paw name. So, as you know, the sheet you recently purchased is fresh stock.
I just learned that in October, Quabaug will stop making that sheet with Cat's Paws name on it.

I knew Quabaug had bought out Biltrite. I used to get a two layer 18 iron sheet heel material from Biltrite. It was exactly the same thickness as a cowboy heel and had a thin, harder, layer bonded to the underside such that you could seat a nail on it and it wouldn't pull through. You could cut any size heel you wanted and it wore well. When Quabaug bought Biltrite they quickly moved to discontinue that product.

I think Quabaug has a sole guard they make under the Vibram name. I have used it once or twice...it's a little more resilient than the Topy but harder than the Cat's Paw. Fortunately, I use so little of the sole guard, this sheet will probably last me the rest of my life.

Nick,

Figured this might fit under this thread. In the picture, are these taps extinct as well? Or are they part of the Cats Paw heel? I took this photo from ACL article from Monday: looks like a shop in Japan called Brass Tokyo puts them on their re-sole jobs.

Are you able to get your hands on them? If so, I'd be interested.

Thanks.

Odds are they were rebuilt with Cats paw brand  half soles  the little bumps are where clinch nails are used to anchor the shank at a splice between old and new soles  I've rebuilt shoes for the past 35 years in Western Ky USA  and  Cats paw products are still available from my wholesaler mainly sheet goods  and toplifts for women's heels  the washered heels were well known for the twin grip wear indicators two  white circles on the outside aspect of the bottom of the  heel   when you wear out the white insert  its time to replace the heel before you loose the shape of the upper  of the shoe American Builtright  at one time bought out Cats Paw  rights and I'm not sure if they totally dropped the line  since its still in suppily and i haven't seen any  dry rot in the rubber goods

A lot of my older shoes have Biltrite Heel pads and a few pair have Cats Paws. They are (were?) excellent product but the Cats Paw are so cool looking. I hope they are resurrected.

That pattern & amber color was orignaly  the pattern used by goodyear  on their chemigum sole intended for work boots  and some work dress shoes was on lots of red wing shoes the cats paw picked up the design as a chevron  brand name the stitch pattern appears to be both an outsole stitch  and  a mckay  stitch er use  the mckay is inside the shoe thru the mid-sole  while the out sole stitch  is  either thru a mid-sole  or a welt depending how the upper style was built   The secondary middle of the sole stitch is the belt and suspenders idea  that is   if they used lower quality cements  it helps hold the sole  as the bond between gets weaker  their are some logical reasons for that type of  extra work  if  the shoe are used in areas where they get overly heated like a foundry  area  where the cements bond is compromised  till it cools  and re-bonds would keep the sole inline  or someone that works a t a fueling station  where occasional spills   would act as a solvent  to break the glue bond between the upper and sole  Other secondary sole companies  make a look  like this sole  The original chemigum sole had a n excellent durometer  (wear factor)  it was a bit slicker than  The secondary middle of the sole stitch is the belt and suspenders idea  that is   if they used lower quality cements  it helps hold the sole  as the bond between gets weaker  their are some logical reasons for that type of  extra work  if  the shoe are used in areas where they get overly heated like a foundry  area  where the cements bond is compromised  till it cools  and re-bonds would keep the sole inline  or someone that works a t a fueling station  where occasional spills   would act as a solvent  to break the glue bond between the upper and sole  Other secondary sole companies  make a look  like this sole  The original chemigum sole had a n excellent durometer  (wear factor)  it was a bit slicker than Neoprene  but stands up to gasoline and desil  fuels mixed while  Neoprene   tends to break down with that blend  they stand either single chemical fine but not  that mix/