Cat Obsession Embodied: Check Out These Cat Museums from All Around the World

Cats have been a common sight in different channels of art for a long time. That’s why museums dedicated to feline art are popular stops, proving how obsessed people are with cats all around the world. As enthusiastic cat lovers, we cannot complain about this. Here we compiled a few examples showing various interpretations of cat-themed museums in different parts of the world.

1. Okayama, Japan

The Maneki Neko Museum is dedicated to the old Japanese tradition of the beckoning cat, maneki-neko. Holding one paw up and beckoning whoever is around, the maneki-neko is believed to bring good luck which explains why it is so ubiquitous in Japan, be it in houses, shops, or restaurants. To honor this old tradition, the Maneki Neko Museum was founded in Okayama, Japan and it hosts over 700 figures. From wooden and metal to porcelain in material, the museum displays the maneki-neko in various different forms. The museum also offers a workshop where the visitors can paint their own unique maneki-nekos.

2. Alliance, Ohio, USA

In relation to Cat Fanciers’ Association, the Feline Historical Museum opened its doors in 2012 in Alliance, Ohio, USA. Taking a historical approach, this museum hosts great feline memorabilia of North America. In addition to drawings and paintings of cats, the Feline Historical Museum features unique and interesting cat-related artifacts. Among these are the cat house designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright as well as the silver collar of the cat that won the first cat show in the USA in 1895.

3. Minsk, Belarus

Situated in the capital of Belarus, the Cat Museum in Minsk functions both as a museum and as an adoption center. The collection includes a wide range of works such as painting, sculpture, photography, and decorative arts. There is also a corner of the museum which is dedicated exclusively to children’s drawings of cats. The volunteer team at the museum regularly picks up stray cats from the streets to have them examined and treated by vets first. These animals are later made available for adoption by animal lovers.

4. Kotor, Montenegro

The Cats Museum in Kotor was founded in 2013 in the old town of Kotor, Montenegro. Hosting a vastly comprehensive collection, the museum presents cat-related paintings, engravings, books, coins, medals, postcards, advertisement fliers, and posters to its visitors. The feline Museum in Kotor occasionally organizes exhibitions in different countries around Europe and opens its doors to exhibitions of contemporary artists upon request. A certain percentage of all the income earned from entrance fees (in addition to donations) is used for caring and feeding street cats in Kotor.

5. Amsterdam, Netherlands

KattenKabinet (meaning cat cabinet in Dutch) is a museum that is dedicated to many types of artworks that portray cats. The building is situated in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and it started operating as a museum in 1990. The founder of the museum, Bob Meijer, decided to create this museum to commemorate his late ginger cat, John Pierpont Morgan (1966-1983), who was a close companion to Meijer. The museum collection hosts feline works from well-known artists such as Picasso, Rembrandt and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

6. Moscow, Russia

Moscow Cat Museum opened its doors to public in 1993 in Moscow, Russia. The cat-lover Andrey Lvovich Abramov founded the museum to present a collection of various types of artworks that were all related to cats. The whole collection is over 1500 pieces and it includes works of painting, sculpture, installation, graphics, and tapestry.

Bonus

This one is not a museum but it was too beautiful to skip, so here we are!

The chubby stray cat Tombili was a resident of Kadıköy municipality in Istanbul, Turkey. She made it a habit to always sit on the same set of stairs in the same position on the same street. In time, Tombili was liked and photographed by everyone around, thanks to her friendliness and funny sitting position. Expectedly, in a short time, she became an internet phenomenon. To honor her memory after she died in 2016, the municipality commissioned the artist Seval Şahin to make a sculpture of the pretty mascot of the street.