Dr. Harold Sims acquired a petrified cat from Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Feb 12. The cat traveled thousands of years and hundreds of miles to arrive at the American Museum of the House Cat, so it’s well worth a visit when the museum reopens on April 2.
Sims received the petrified cat from architect Peter Dahl, who is working to restore King Saud’s Palace in Saudi Arabia. He discovered the petrified kitten in a box in the basement of the palace. According to Sims, the cat likely dates back to 361 A.D., before the reign of King Saud.
Sims believes the cat may not have been royalty or intentionally preserved as part of a ceremony.
“It could have been some little boy in the palace had a kitten and the kitten got sick,” Sims said. “He put it in the box and it died and they forgot about it and it was laid in the basement.”
The cat will join other ancient artifacts in the museum. Sims owns a much larger petrified cat found in the chimney of a Victorian England home, as well as a mummified cat from ancient Egypt. Sims received the mummy from the Brooklyn Museum in 2018.
Sims plans to display these cats together in a special exhibit in the corner of the cat museum. “We’re gonna make it into a little grotto of Egyptian stuff,” Sims said. “You walk into the tomb and you walk around the corner and you see the mummies in the case.”
The petrified cat differs from the mummified cat because it’s not wrapped in cloth. In the petrification process, the cat dries up over a long period, and its organic material is replaced with minerals. Many other organisms can petrify, most famously tree wood.
After finding the cat in 2017, Dahl took it home to Atlanta, keeping it in his collection until this year. Dahl contacted Sims, told him about the petrified cat, and offered to contribute it to his museum.
The American Museum of the House Cat will open to the public 10 a.m. April 2. Visitors will be able to browse the museum’s extensive collection of art, toys, and books while receiving guided tours by Sims of its exhibits, including the petrified cat.
The museum has had a tumultuous history since its 2017 opening. It used to be part of an antique mall, but when the owner sold the building in 2019, Sims had to move across the street and construct a new one. Like many local businesses, COVID-19 closed it again.
“I didn’t want to work here and get sick from the people who wouldn’t put their mask on,” Sims said. “So I had to close it up and it’s been closed up ever since.”
Health problems and medical procedures have prevented Sims from reopening, but he still plans to move forward in April. Preparing the museum will take a lot of work, including adding stronger lighting, reorganizing the artwork, and adding an exterior shed full of the museum’s larger paintings.
Sims has spent his retirement years working with cats. In addition to the museum, Sims operates the Catman2 Cat Shelter, which houses 30 to 50 cats every year and offers low-cost spay and neutering. The museum is about 18 minutes from the cat shelter, which Sims lives within walking distance of.
A printout in the museum lobby reveals that Sims was nominated for a Cat Lover Award in 2005. By this point, he had helped adopt out 1,800 feral, abandoned and abused cats. That number is certainly much larger now.
“You will need to see CatMan walking through the sanctuary talking to each kitty to know that this is a special person,” said Linda Dickert, who nominated Sims for the award.
Sims acquired most of his collection before opening the museum and now finds new additions at roadside antique shops across the region. He is quite proud of his museum’s large makeshift carousel featuring antique “carousel cats.”
“It’s the only inside carousel in a museum in the world, I think,” Sims said.
Outside of his work at the shelter, Sims own three cats. His love for cats shines through in everything he does, so it’s safe to assume his own are well cared for.
Along with reopening the cat museum, Sims plans to release a book of poetry in June 2023. Several of his poems are scattered throughout the museum, providing rhyming background information on the exhibits—including the other petrified cat.
To see Sims’ collection up close, visit the museum this April after 10 a.m.!
