  The VHE gamma-ray imaging telescope CAT started taking data in October 1996.
Located at the Themis solar site in southern France, it features a 17.7 m^2
Davies-Cotton mirror equipped with 600 PMT camera at the focal plane. The
mechanics and optics, the PMTs and the electronics are presented. The
performance, based on the first 7 months of operation, is discribed.
