Builder unseals tomb of mummified cat

Builder John Manley with the mummified cat he found in the walls of a house, with the bones of two other cats. Photo / Sam Ackland

A mummified cat believed to have been stuck in the walls of a Mt Maunganui home for more than 55 years has been found by a surprised builder.

John Manley was working on the weatherboard of Claire and Michael Fraser's Tui St home when he made the bizarre discovery.

The cat had no hair or eyes but was otherwise intact, including skin and claws.

"It's not many times you see a cat behind a wall looking at you," Mr Manley said.

"It looks pretty much like a normal cat, just all dried up. It looks like it's 100 years old.

"It's runty as, you can see all the bones and the ribs. The paws are all curled up and it's still got the ears on."

Mr Manley said he'd never seen anything like it in 12 years as a builder.

"I have come across a bird but never a cat. I don't know how it got in there but it couldn't get out."

Mr Manley also discovered a cat skeleton and the skull of a cat at the house.

He believed the cat had become mummified as the wall where it was found was so dry.

"There's no air movement, there's nothing to get in there and eat at it."

While he had no idea how long the cat had been there, he believed it could have been there since the house was built in 1955.

"Where it was, it couldn't have got there by itself. It's a bit weird."

Mrs Fraser, a Bay of Plenty Times photographer, was surprised by last Thursday's find but did not find it creepy.

Her 16-month-old daughter even wanted to pat the cat and made meowing noises at it.

"I knew our house was dry but I didn't think it would be capable of mummifying a cat," Mrs Fraser said.

She was unsure how the moggy - or the other cats whose bones were found - had got under the house.

Now, the family is unsure what to do with the cat's remains.

"If there are any takers, they can have it, otherwise we will probably just dispose of it."

Yesterday, a producer and musician named Barry Nickless, aka The Entity, asked to borrow the corpse to use in a music video.