Spouses support each other out of love even when the idea sounds wacky. Shawn Redner turned to his wife, Hilary Siegel-Redner, and expressed the idea of transforming their shared home into a museum for cat figurines. Does she dismiss his outrageous idea or entertain the thought despite her reservations? She took the latter approach to this scenario.
The Redner couple launched the Rescued Cat Figurine Mewseum and started accumulating a collection of second-hand “rescued” cat statues. The couple contributed 12 items to the displays and more than 13,000 pieces came from thrift stores, antique malls and through public donations.
His wife was initially shocked at the idea but she developed a passion for the collection. They built display cases, painted walls and installed track lighting to give off the vibe of a cozy museum. Redner said witnessing the house change into Redner’s Rescued Cat Figurine Mewseum made her realize she was making the right move. Her crazy husband may have been right this one time.
They hold open houses which attract cat lovers to experience the museum first-hand and the couple entertained approximately 30 visitors per open house. Visitors are requested to consider making a $5 donation for cat rescues.
The public response has been overwhelmingly positive. “The response from the people has just been fantastic. Like, it’s ‘I can’t believe this place is real,’ or ‘It makes me so happy,'” Redner said. “We had a woman come in here on Sunday that just started bawling.”
Although the museum had humble beginnings, they hope to shift its operations by relocating the museum out of the home to a public coffee shop or museum for adoptable cats. They may be a friendly couple but it’s a lot easier convincing people to visit a shop than a creepy cat doll house.