How would you react if someone asked you to go to The Cathouse? Outside of the Bible community of Central Florida, there can't be many other places where a local preacher is apt to say to friends, "Let's Go To The Cathouse".

Its' uniqueness of the name, its' vernacular connotation to a house of ill repute, and the thousands of ceramic cats for which the restaurant is named, has made it a local institution. Most of the feline statuettes are antique and all are gifts from customers the restaurant has had since it opened in 1972.

The Cathouse Restaurant was started by the late Norman Peck and Charlie Cox, who showed cats competitively. Dozens of church and community groups meet here socially or in the private meeting room called "The Persian Room". The restroom area is appropriately marked "Sandbox". Inside, two doors are labeled "Pussy Cats" and "Tomcats".

Most customers are Senior Citizens, part of the city's 10,000 to 12,000 permanent residents. That doubles during the winter tourist season, particularly in March when the city hosts a week of Auto Racing. Available at the Cathouse, are, bumper stickers, and coffee mugs emblazoned with the restaurant's name. A popular souvenir is a bumper sticker that says: "Support Our Local Cathouse"! One unverified account is that police arrested a man in Tennessee a few years back for displaying the sign on his car, authorities thought they had a proprietor of a bawdy house until a long distance phone call to the restaurant cleared the suspect!