Newspaper Clipping of the Day

Via Newspapers.com

Any cat can make your life difficult.  But when the cat in question died some three centuries earlier, you know you’re dealing with one special kitty.  The “Vincennes Sun-Commercial,” November 17, 1975:

SUDBURY, England (AP) — Residents of this East Anglia town hope they’ve seen the end of a series of local misfortunes now that the mayor and the rector have reburied a 300-year-old cat.

The trouble began four years ago when Arthur Kemp tore down a 16th Century building to build a hotel and found a mummified cat buried beneath. It was the custom in medieval times to bury a live cat in a building under construction to ward off witches and prevent fires. 

Kemp decided to place this historical curiosity in his shop. 

Shortly thereafter the shop caught fire for no apparent reason. 

Kemp then put the cat in a workshop. The workshop caught fire. 

Then serious defects suddenly appeared in the new hotel Kemp built, although it had appeared structurally sound. The defects showed up just above the spot where the cat was found. 

Kemp and the city fathers got the message. On Friday, Mayor Tony Moore placed the feline remains in a glass-topped casket and with a special service by Canon Peter Schneider buried it in the floor of the hotel. 

“My prayers were for the building” Rev. Schneider stressed. "I could not become involved in a religious ceremony for a cat”.

Hopefully, both Kemp and the cat were subsequently able to coexist in peace.  Although I can't say I like Rev. Schneider's attitude.