Skimbleshanks is a character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 book of poetry Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical Cats, which is based on Eliot's book. The character is portrayed as a bright and energetic orange tabby cat who lives and works on the mail trains.

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939) is a collection of whimsical light poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It serves as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical Cats.