A mysterious china cat has appeared at Torquay Library masquerading as a genuine Torquay Museum English Riviera Cats Trail moggy, and the Museum is at a loss to explain how he got there and is keen to track down the owner of this mystery feline.
“The Museum’s Cats Trail has attracted lots of interest already from people across Torbay,” explains Kate Richards from Torquay Museum’s Education Team. “But we now have a mystery interloper amongst our ceramic cats. He’s of an identical size and design to our other official cats, but he’s not one of ours and has been decorated with decoupage. He was clearly feeling a little lonely because he’s sought out the company of the Cats Trail ceramic moggy that’s based in Torquay Library.”
“So who is this mystery cat and who decorated him? That’s what we’re trying to find out,” said Kate. “Either so that we can re-unite him with his owner, or so that he can live at Torquay Museum with our other Cats Trail moggies.”
The English Riviera Cats Trail was launched at the end of May by Torquay Museum which challenged people to find the 20 ceramic cats displayed at many different sites around Torbay, each with a unique theme and beautifully decorated by local artists and schools. The trail was designed to celebrate the Museum’s popular Claws: A Human History of Cats temporary exhibition, which runs until 4th September.
To take part in the Cats Trail, simply pick up a trail sheet from Torquay Museum, or download it from the Museum’s website, and find the 20 ceramic cats. Each cat has a mystery letter, which can be used to reveal the hidden cat-related phrase. Completed entry forms can be handed into Torquay Museum, and one lucky person will win a host of cat-related goodies.
The Cats Trail has been inspired by Torquay Museum’s exhibition, Claws! The Human History of Cats, which tells the extraordinary story of the relationship between humans and cats, from distant prehistory until the present day. Spanning 40 million years, it features the enormous awe-inspiring skulls of extinct sabre-tooth cats and cave lions, an Egyptian cat mummy, wildcats, stories of cats throughout human history, man-eaters, dozens of fascinating cat-related artefacts, and much more.
