Harold W. Sims Jr., Whose Museum Honored the House Cat, Dies at 89

Harold W.Sims Jr., a fanatic for all things feline, who poured his life savings into his own no-kill animal shelter and then took his passion a step further by founding the American Museum of the House Cat, displaying some 10,000 cat-themed artifacts, including antique windup tabbies and an ancient Egyptian cat mummy, died on Nov.

17 in Sylva, N.C.He was 89.His death, at a care facility, was confirmed by Kaleb Lynch, who helped run the shelter and served as Dr.

Sims’s caregiver.Dr.Sims discovered his love for cats relatively late in life.

After retiring from teaching at a Florida community college, he needed something to occupy his time until his wife, Kay, retired as well, and they could fulfill their dream of moving to Western North Carolina.He began volunteering at an animal shelter, where he helped care for cats.Around the same time, he and Kay adopted their first feline, a Persian named Buzzy.As cat ownership tends to go, one led to another, and then three, and four, until the couple — by then ensconced in the rural Appalachian Mountains — were caring for 13 furry friends.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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