diff --git a/mobile/mobile.scss b/mobile/mobile.scss
index d93de10..d0c0bce 100644
--- a/mobile/mobile.scss
+++ b/mobile/mobile.scss
@@ -182,3 +182,21 @@ ol.category-breadcrumb {
 .topic-list .topic-list-item .topic-list-data {
   padding: 15px;
 }
+
+// default category list styles when the modern category boxes theme component isn't used
+
+.category-list-item.category {
+  background: var(--secondary);
+  border-radius: 1em;
+  tbody {
+    display: flex;
+    flex-direction: column;
+    width: 100%;
+  }
+  td {
+    width: 100%;
+  }
+  .num.posts {
+    padding-right: 0.25em;
+  }
+}