Cat Museum Boasts 5,000+ Feline Curiosities

Wonders abound at the Sylva American Museum of the House Cat

The recently opened American Museum of the House Cat pays homage to felines across the world through more than 5,000 curiosities. Items on display include rare carousel cats, modern and folk art, advertising, posters, art glass, clocks, and vintage and antique toys. There’s even a medieval petrified cat pulled from a chimney in England and an Egyptian cat mummy (circa 330–30 BC).

The paw-some shrine, housed in an antique mall in Sylva, was the idea of Dr. Harold Sims, a retired biology professor (pictured left, below). The exhibits were curated from his 30-years-plus collection of all things cat. Admission is $5 per person, $2 for children under 12. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday–Saturday, and 12–5 p.m. Sunday. All profits go to the Catman2 Shelter, a cage-free, no kill cat adoption center in Cullowhee that Sims opened in 2002.

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