North Carolina house cat museum features Egyptian mummy

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The founder of The American Museum of the House Cat in North Carolina estimated he's spent about $250,000 building the collection, which includes a 2,000-year-old mummy.

Harold Sims, aka The Catman, said he aims to celebrate the impact of cats on pop culture and advertising at his Sylvia museum, which opened officially in April.

"Cats are good salesmen," Sims told WLOS-TV. "You see a cat, it looks cute, you've got to have it."

Sims, who spent more than 30 years and about $250,000 cultivating a collection that includes an Egyptian mummy from about 2,000 years ago and a petrified cat found in a 16th century English chimney, said the items were stored at his home and his Catman2 Shelter before the museum opened its doors.

He told the Citizen-Times the $5 price for admission -- $2 for children under 12 -- goes toward taking care of the cats at his shelter.

Sims said he is hoping to expand the museum's services to include hosting weddings for feline-loving couples.