The 400-year-old (mummified) cat’s out of the bag

Marco Wouters with cat, inset left

Published: 7 June, 2013
by PAVAN AMARA and AMY SMITH

BURIED beneath the floorboards of an Angel florist lies the makeshift tomb of a mystery mummified cat believed to be 400 years old, it was revealed this week.

The bizarre burial was discovered back in the 1960s, jammed in the wall of the building in Upper Street.

Marco Wouters, 50, has been looking after the remains since opening Angel Flowers there 19 years ago.

He said: “When I first came, the neighbours told me they’d discovered it in the shared wall with our shop during refurbish­ments. When they left, I came, and they entrusted me because we’d become friendly and they’d told me the whole story behind this animal.

“One afternoon they came over with the cat on a wooden board, a bit like it was on a stretcher, and asked me to look after it. I didn’t mind, but I didn’t know what to do with it.

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