Feline Historical Museum, Alliance, OH
This is the real deal: it’s not a joke museum or a personal hobby, this is the work of the Cat Fancier’s Association. The literal centerpiece is a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for a client’s cat.
Conveniently located next to the troll museum.
Lucky Cat Museum, Cincinnati, OH
Yup, Ohio has two cat museums. When you collect enough items you stop being a hoarder of lucky cat figurines and become the director of a museum.
Jackson Square, New Orleans, LA
Watching the cats take over a square that gets locked at night is common in plenty of cities around the world. If you can’t make it out of the US, catch your cat park vibes in Jackson Square.
Hemingway House in Key West, FL
Does anyone visit Hemingway’s Key West home who isn’t there for the polydactyl cats? I have a hunch they’re not coming to see Key West’s first house with indoor plumbing. There was a court case in 2009 over the cats’ welfare, but don’t worry, they’re still there and being properly cared for.
York Cat Walk, York, England
There are 22 cat statues on buildings around the city of York.
If you happen to fly through London, there’s a cat statue for you there, too. Samuel Johnson didn’t set up a sanctuary like Hemingway, but his legendary love of his cat, Hodge, resulted in this statue.
Hop on the train from London to Oxted Station and the 236 bus will take you to Churchill’s Chartwell House. He requested that Chartwell be home to a ginger cat named Jock in perpetuity. The managers of the estate have kept this promise, although sometimes claws make it a little tricky.
Kattenstoet parade, Ypres, Belgium
Make sure to be in Ypres on the second Sunday of May to catch the Kattenstoet. The origins are a little less than cat friendly, since it commemorates the city’s history of viewing cats as being in cahoots with the devil and seeking to exterminate the city’s cat population, but it also celebrates the city’s leaders changing their minds and deciding to let the cats be.
People refer to this as a ‘cat throwing festival’ because supposedly cats were thrown to their deaths from the bell tower, but these days anything that gets thrown is a stuffed toy.
Kattenkabinet, Amsterdam, Holland
Artists around the world have used the cat as their muse for centuries. Amsterdam’s Kattenkabinet is a collection of a tiny fraction of those works.
Poezenboot animal sanctuary, Amsterdam, Holland
The Poezenboot boasts that it’s the world’s only floating animal sanctuary. Which feels like a very specific title, no? It’s been around since the 1960s, which is pretty impressive, and a houseboat full of cats is always delightful. Tourists are welcome to snuggle cats and donations are welcome.
Torre Argentina, Rome, Italy
Torre Argentina is known for being a cat sanctuary, but really, the cats chose the ruins as their home and the volunteers came to serve them.
Cat House, Riga, Latvia
Riga’s cat house isn’t exactly worth booking a flight for, but if you find yourself in Latvia it’s worth a look.
Cat Museum, Šiauliai, Lithuania
There are a lot of places for cat ladies to visit in Japan. Give yourself time to explore.
Kotor Cats Museum, Kotor, Montenegro
Kotor’s museum may be modest, but they do it right. Because their cat museum is full of cats.
Kuching Cat Museum, Sarawak, Malaysia
Are you ready to learn about the history of the cat? Then this is the place to be. This is no out of the way side project, this is located in City Hall.
Aoshima Island, Japan
What cat lady doesn’t dream of visiting Japan’s Aoshima Island? It’s one of several cat islands in Japan, so perhaps you’d prefer a less popular option.
