Cat Mummy Found in Ceiling

1900

Body of Inquisitive Cat Found After Many Years

Egyptian mummies are not so much of a rarity nowadays as they once were, in fact they may even at present be looked upon as an article of commerce, but the body of a mummified cat found at Germantown has claims to be regarded, as a curiosity. The mummy is now to be seen in the window of 14 Chelten avenue, Germantown. The preservation of the body is perfect, the ears and even the tail being in good condition.

The house indicated is occupied by the family of J. S. Pryor. Mrs. Pryor says that when the ceiling of the Methodist Episcopal church, on Haines street, was being torn down for repair Oct. 24, 1877, the workmen came across a hard substance embedded in the ceiling. On being dug out the substance was cast aside. Mr. Pryor, who was watching the repairs, brushed the accumulated dust and dirt from the castoff object, and the mummified body of a cat appeared.

How the quadruped got into the interior structure of the ceiling, there to die, is a mystery. The church was built in 1858. The only plausible theory so far presented is that the cat, by some means, got into the ceiling while the original plastering was in progress and tarried until sealed in. The plaster on hardening became air-tight and the cat by exhausting the air in its adopted prison cell unconsciously preserved its body intact.

The Pryors intend to give the curiosity some day to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. — Philadelphia Times.


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