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You are here: Home / Adventure Cats & Traveling with Cats / The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat

The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat

January 19, 2018 10 Comments

If you read last Monday’s post, you know that we made a pitstop at the Catman2 Shelter on our way to Asheville a few weeks ago. After we finished up at the shelter, we made a second stop before finishing the drive. We stopped at the American Museum of the House Cat!

The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat

The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat

The American Museum of the House Cat is a unique museum full of Dr. Harold Sims’s 30+ year collection of all things relating to the house cat. And when they say “all things,” they really mean “ALL things.” 🙂 (Dr. Sims is the founder/owner of both the museum and the Catman2 Shelter.)

There are countless art prints, some going back to the late 1800’s, modern art, folk art, rare advertising art, cat poster art, art glass cats, vintage and antique toy cats, vintage advertising, clocks, and storefront or window display items, etc. There are also a lot of historical cat artifacts. The American Museum of the House Cat is actually home to the largest private collection of this magnitude in the country!

The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat

Though the museum is small in size, there is a lot to see, as you can tell. You could easily spend upwards of an hour combing through all of the exhibits and learning all about them. We took a self-guided tour, but Kelly, one of the museum volunteers, checked in with us throughout our visit to explain and point out exhibits of special-interest. She was extremely knowledgable and helpful, and we enjoyed talking all things “cat” with her.

The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat
A carousel cat!
The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat
Musical cats!
The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat
Cat art!
The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat
These cats’ eyes watch you wherever you go!

Something that I really appreciated about the museum was their focus on cat education. For an additional $5, you can purchase a Reader’s Guide for the museum. It is an amazing resource for all kinds of interesting information! There are articles about some of the exhibits, but also some great historical articles about the history of the house cat, cats in Egypt, cats during the Black Plague, the history of cat litter etc. It also has some great information about spaying and neutering and things to know before getting a cat.

The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat
Time to jam!
The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat
Saber Tooth Cat
The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat
A petrified cat!
The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat
A mummified cat!
The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat
An old poster ad for cat litter

If you will be in the Sylva, NC area, don’t miss out on visiting this museum. It is a unique treat for sure! The museum is closed for the season right now, but they are offering private winter tours Sundays-Fridays with 48 hours advance notice for the months of January, February and March. There is a $5 entrance fee to the museum. Any money earned in excess to museum costs goes to the Catman2 Shelter.

[one_half] The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat [/one_half][one_half] The KCC Adventure Team in Asheville: The American Museum of the House Cat [/one_half]

I love all that Dr. Sims and his crew are doing for cats in Western North Carolina. They are working tirelessly not just to promote rescue and adoption, but also to educate and advocate for cats everywhere. If you will be in the area, I definitely recommend checking out both the Catman2 Shelter and the American Museum of the House Cat.

Filed Under: Adventure Cats & Traveling with Cats Tagged With: Asheville

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Summer says

    January 19, 2018 at 4:00 am

    OMC, what an amazing place! That is really awesome.

    Reply
  2. Brian Frum says

    January 19, 2018 at 8:49 am

    That’s a very cool place to visit and we didn’t know it was there!

    Reply
  3. Random Felines says

    January 19, 2018 at 11:03 am

    how interesting….that is quite the collection

    Reply
  4. mommakatandherbearcat says

    January 19, 2018 at 6:10 pm

    I never knew there was such a place! That is REALLY cool!

    Reply
  5. Ellen Pilch says

    January 19, 2018 at 6:36 pm

    That looks like the coolest museum ever. I want to go there!

    Reply
  6. The Island Cats says

    January 19, 2018 at 7:20 pm

    We’ve never heard of this museum! What a cool place!

    Reply
  7. Teddy says

    January 20, 2018 at 11:42 am

    WOW……how very cool and it looks like there really was a WHOLE LOT to see there!

    Hugs, Teddy and Pam

    Reply
  8. Tamago says

    January 20, 2018 at 1:02 pm

    Wow, that is a massive collection of kitty stuff! What a fun museum. I like the carousel kitty and the cat litter poster 🙂

    Reply
  9. meowmeowmans says

    January 21, 2018 at 1:43 pm

    What an awesome place! We’d totally love to visit there someday!

    Reply
  10. Meezer's Mews & Terrieristical Woofs says

    January 23, 2018 at 3:30 am

    Oh, Wowee! That has to be added immediately to our bucket list!

    Reply

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