Binks arrived at Bates, a "gentlemen's hatter" shop, as a stray kitten in 1921. He soon became a favorite of the shop's patrons, his rust and cream marbled fur a good match with the autumn palette of gentlemen's hats.

Binks enjoyed the freedom of the shop near Piccadilly Circus for 5 years before succumbing to an unknown ailment. The shop's owner had him stuffed and mounted in a glass case. There he sits to this day, a miniature top hat cocked over one ear, a slim cheroot in his mouth.

Cloth caps are stacked on either side, and antique hat boxes that might have been new when he was a kitten line the shelves above. Binks continues to exude the debonair air of a cat about town.