If you’ve never heard about the oldest existing cat door, we are thrilled to be the ones to share this delightful information with you. During medieval times, as you can imagine, it wasn’t easy to keep rodents like mice and rats at bay. Large buildings like the Exeter Cathedral, previously known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter, were likely even harder to keep clean.
Luckily, it seems that cats have always had an interest in these sorts of creatures. As evident from records of wages from 1305 to 1467, it’s clear that the folks who ran the church back then recognized this fact about cats. And so they formed a beautiful partnership that benefited both humans and felines.
With the help of workers called custors, cats weren’t just accepted inside the church, they were encouraged to be there. In fact, records show that they were paid 13 pence per quarter. Not too bad for a cat, if you ask us.
Okay, so the cats themselves weren’t getting paid.
But the custor was given money specifically to be spent on the cats who took care of the rodents — they needed to make sure they were being fed outside of the rodents they would catch.
To make sure they had easy access to areas where the rodents were, a cat flap (or, rather, a hole carved into a door) was made so they could hunt to their hearts’ content beneath the cathedral.
This tradition continues to this day with their latest cat, Audrey. This long-haired orange cat still uses the same cat flap the many felines who came before her used. How cool is that!?
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here and here!
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