Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(UK Und.) a person who steals pewter quart and pint pots from public houses.

1856		H. Mayhew Great World of London I 46: ‘Cat and Kitten Hunters,’ who make off with quart and pint pots from area railings.
1861		H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor IV 26: [as cit. 1856].
1901		Argus (Melbourne) 20 Sept. 6/4: Amongst these small fry of the profession [are] the carrier pigeon, a swindler’s agent, the cat and kitten stealer, whose special line is quart and pint pots, the Charley pilcher [sic], a very poor kind of cheat, the dido, who steals from carts.

(UK Und.) the stealing of pint and quart pots from public houses.

1851		‘Adventures of Mr and Mrs Sandboys’ in Bells New Wkly Messenger 9 Mar. 6/2: I may mention [...] bluey-hunting, or pilfering metal and especially lead from the tops of houses; and cat and kitten hunting, or abstracting pewter quart and pint-pots.
1857		‘Ducange Anglicus’ Vulgar Tongue 7: Cat and Kitten Hunting Stealing publicans’ pewter pots.
[1858		A. Mayhew Paved with Gold 268: He could tell tales of trunks knowingly cut away from their lashings to the hind springs, or how he had ‘pricked for panam in the wicker,’ or ‘sneaked a cat and kitten’ from the tap-room].
1859		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. 18: CAT AND KITTEN SNEAKING, stealing pint and quart pots from public-houses.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict. [as cit. 1859].
1895		Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 15: Cat and Kitten Stealing, stealing quarts and pints from hotels.

(UK Und.) the stealing of pint and quart pots from public houses.

1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.

the stealing of pewter tankards from public houses.

1909

J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era.