Sad story of an ancient cat

It was Hallowe’en this week, so it seems fitting to highlight one of Horsham Museum’s more unusual items on display – the desiccated (dried out) cat!

It is part of the ‘Cabinet of Curiosity’ and sometimes erroneously called the ‘mummified cat’, but it wasn’t preserved… far from it.

It was discovered behind a fireplace on a farm in nearby Southwater in the 1970s and given to the Museum. However, it could originate from the 16th or 17th century!

Now we get to the rather macabre side of the story.

Back in the 1700s and 1800s people, occasionally, would put a live cat behind a fireplace or a wall and brick it up. The cat’s cries were thought to be evil spirits escaping and leaving the property.

However, there’s also a suggestion that some of the cats may have died before being walled up. Hopefully, this was the case with the one at the Museum!

Other examples have been found in old houses, churches and pubs around the UK and even in Europe, Australia and the USA. The practice lost its appeal eventually and coins were sometimes placed behind walls instead.

It’s a sad story but Horsham Museum’s desiccated cat is remarkably popular. The cat is one of the objects the public can ‘adopt’ to help preserve it and there’s quite a list of folk happy to do so!

If you want to adopt one of the Museum’s objects go to our adoption page to find a list and full details.