A COUPLE made a horrifying “mummified” discovery said to ward off evil spirits while renovating their attic.
Dr Declan Keane and wife Michelle’s new home overlooks a village graveyard thought to have once been subject to supernatural attacks.
The dead feline is thought to have once protected the house.
The couple are currently renovating the 1773 detached property that is in the Dorset village of Milton Abbas, famous for its picture postcard rows of thatched cottages.
Thatchers found the mummified cat that had leathery skin in a boxed void made for it in the rear corner of the roof closest to the St James’ Church.
The practice of concealing a dried out cat to protect the home is believed to have taken place across the UK and Europe from medieval times through to the Victorian era.
Superstitious people believed the preserved feline could ward off everything from natural and human disasters to supernatural attacks from witches and evil spirits.
The Keanes say it is impossible to tell when the cat died, although they believe it to be about 150 years old.
They have named the mummified cat ‘Jimmy’ and have put it back in the thatched eaves to keep up with the quirky tradition.
Mrs Keane, a 52-year-old company director of a dental practice, said: “Our house is quite historic and if you see pictures of Milton Abbas, you usually see pictures of our house.
“We had the builders up to replace the thatching, they found a mummified cat among the thatching overlooking the graveyard.
“I was a bit shocked. I thought with a house as old as this, doing renovations would disturb something and we’d maybe find some artefacts but I wasn’t expecting a dead cat.
“I spoke to our architect and she said you have to put it back, history says they are put there to ward off evil spirits.
“I’ve never had a thatched cottage before and didn’t know it was a thing.
“I started to do some research and I found that mummified cats were used hundreds of years ago to ward off evil spirits and protect the home.
“Our house backs onto a graveyard so I’m thinking it was put there to ward off any evil spirits from the graveyard.
“It all makes sense when you look into the history.
“I’ve since spoken to previous owners who said they also found him when they had the thatch replaced and put him back again.
“At first I thought ‘eurgh a dead cat’ but I quite love him now.
My dog doesn’t want to go in the house, but Jimmy has made me feel a lot better, the house feels really lovely with him there.
“We’ve put him back safely but I would like to make sure he’s preserved for hundreds more years so I don’t know if we need to do anything more, like put him in a glass case.
“With these houses I do think we are just the custodians, we look after it then pass it down to future generations and we want him to stay there. It’s a lovely piece of history.”
Builder Calvin Curtis found the cat along with the thatcher.
He said: “When he said he had found a dead cat I thought it was a wind up.
“It was in a boxed void in the thatched eaves in the rear corner of the property that is closest to the graveyard.
“We now know that previous thatchers had found it and left it there as it was quite well known that having a mummified cat in the roof was a thing many years ago.
“It didn’t smell or anything. What was left of it was the skeleton and leathery skin of the cat that had been embalmed.”
