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                                  Exhibit 31.1

                                  CERTIFICATION

         I, John P. Derham Cato, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
of The Cato Corporation, certify that:

         1.       I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of The Cato
Corporation;

         2.       Based on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this
annual report;

         3.       Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial information included in this annual report, fairly present in all
material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this annual report;

         4.       The registrant's other certifying officers and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures
(as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant
and have:

         a)       designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure
that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated
subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly
during the period in which this annual report is being prepared;

         b)       evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of
this annual report (the "Evaluation Date"); and

         c)       presented in this annual report our conclusions about the
effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on our evaluation
as of the Evaluation Date;

         5.       The registrant's other certifying officers and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and
the audit committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing
the equivalent functions):

         a)       all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
internal controls which could adversely affect the registrant's ability to
record, process, summarize and report financial data and have identified for the
registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in internal controls; and

         b)       any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
controls; and

         6.       The registrant's other certifying officers and I have
indicated in this annual report whether there were significant changes in
internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal
controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation, including any
corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material
weaknesses:

Date: April 8, 2004

 /s/ John P. Derham Cato
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John P. Derham Cato
Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer