The oldest existing cat flap set into a beautiful medieval door, Exeter Cathedral, England, 14th c. (1301-1400)

@Natasha_Jay
"A Steady Supplie of Catte For Mine Witchcraft Waes Requirred!"

@Natasha_Jay

Wow this story just gets better!

Records from Exeter Cathedral that year show bishop William Cotton payed carpenters to carve a cat hole in the door to a large astronomical clock.

The reason was because the clock’s gears were lubricated with animal fat, which attracted mice, and the cats served as pest control.

Some have suggested it to be the inspiration behind the nursery rhyme “Hickory Dickory Dock.”

@Natasha_Jay that can't be right. Everyone knows cats were invented in 1873 by an Austrian who sold the rights to Edison, who went on to produce millions of hand-cranked cats.

@Natasha_Jay According to this Smithsonian article, though the cathedral may have been built earlier, the cat door "dates back to 1598".

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wheres-the-oldest-cat-door-on-earth-180982901/

Thanks for sharing another picture of its usage!

@Natasha_Jay I'm imagining someone behind this door, their job being to 'motivate' the cat into 'demonstrating' how the catflap works,

"C'mon, Mr. Tiddles! (Shoves on cat's butt) Let's show these folks how it works."

And then there's the expression on the cat's face itself, I don't think Mr. Tiddles looks too impressed!

@Natasha_Jay

I thought it was in Hamelin