Sometimes I fall into adventures and on a Saturday in July Chris and I definitely had an adventure.  We headed to the Sylva, North Carolina area to meet Micah who was in town for a wedding.  On the way to his cabin we passed the American Museum of the House Cat and my eyes lit up.  Chris was less enthusiastic but when we met Micah he and his friends had already planned to visit so we made a morning of it.

I have already been to the Feline Historical Museum in Alliance, Ohio with my mom several years ago and loved visiting it.  You can check that post out by clicking here.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Museum of the American House Cat but what I discovered was an eclectic and fascinating museum.  

Harold Sims, also known as Catman2 runs and operates the cat museum primary due to his love of all things cats.  He also runs a no-kill shelter that houses 60-80 cats at a time in a free range type environment.  He was there the day we visited the two room museum that is filled floor to ceiling with over 5000 cat themed items.  Anything with a cat is welcome here although there are no live cats at the museum.

The outside of the building is fun and decorated with all kinds of cat images of varying shapes and sizes.  There is no shortage of photo opportunities here.

The adjoining antique mall has room after room of books, antiques, glassware and collectibles as well as furniture and all kinds of odds and ends.  The ladies there help with sales from the museum and are happy to assist customers with any questions they might have.

Entering the museum is like entering into a world where only cats exist.  One room is completely filled with display cases that house glassware and collectibles.  Paintings, drawings and pictures of all kinds cover the walls.

Of course I had to try out the little kitty bank at the check out desk. Don’t miss this video.

Thank you! from Beth Ann Chiles on Vimeo.

There is plenty of information located in the museum to inform any visitor and of course Catman2 is there and happy to share his knowledge.

He also is happy to demonstrate how some of the items work including this cat toy that he had crawling across the floor.

He was very happy to talk to everyone about the fun objects that he has spent 30 years collecting.  Believe me – there are a lot of things to look at.

From advertising to cat themed rockers there is something for every cat lover in this museum.

Come back tomorrow for more pictures and don’t forget to check out both the museum and the shelter by clicking at the links at the end of the post.  The following short video gives a quick tour of the beautiful shelter where the cats live freely.

Catman2 website

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Museum information

The American Museum of the House Cat
Located at the Old School Antique Mall
4704 Hwy 441 South
Sylva, NC 28779
Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday: 10AM-5PM
Sunday: 12PM-5PM
Last tour of the day 4:30PM
Closed Mondays (private tours available with advanced notice)
828.476.9376

The American Museum of the House Cat admission fee:
Adults – $7.50
Children under 12 – $2.00
Children under 6 – free admission