In Shanghai, cat lovers had an opportunity to explore ancient Egyptian artifacts alongside their feline companions during the Shanghai Museum's 'Meowseum Nights'. The event allowed cats and their owners to wander through the museum's current exhibition, "On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt", which runs through August 17, 2025.
The museum sold 2,200 tickets, including 200 for cats and 2,000 for humans, according to The Art Newspaper. Visitors were admitted for two hours each evening, and the museum provided a spot by the cat sarcophagus for taking photos with the felines, reports mentalfloss.com.
The exhibition includes artifacts from the Bastet temple, devoted to the cat goddess Bastet, showing the reverence for felines in ancient Egypt. "Much of the show has to do with cats," said Chu Xiaobo, the Shanghai Museum’s director, according to The Art Newspaper. "It was a good overlap of Egyptian and Chinese society."
Pets were required to come with vaccination documents, and owners were advised to consider their animals' personalities before booking tickets, notes mentalfloss.com.
Pets had to be in carriers or strollers at all times during the events, although special strollers for cats were provided, states mentalfloss.com. Employees from the Shanghai Small Animal Protection Base were equipped with nets and thick gloves in case felines escaped, according to The Art Newspaper. "About five or six cats got loose every night during 'Meowseum Nights', but none made it far before they were caught," The Art Newspaper noted.
The museum had a veterinarian and a doctor on standby during the events, and an ambulance was parked outside in case anything went wrong, as reported by The Art Newspaper. "We were more nervous than the cats," said Chu ahead of the first event on July 27, according to The Art Newspaper. "But we've never seen pets at museums before, and I think we are the first globally."
Visitors expressed enthusiasm for the experience. "It is a very good idea, just there are too many people," said a visitor during one August session, as mentioned in The Art Newspaper. "I saw a chance to get tickets, and he likes going out," said Wen Liuli, who brought her cat Chaoge to the event, as reported by The Art Newspaper. "I would have come to the show anyway, but brought him as he likes activities and there are not many things we can do together."
"There are dog parks, dog brunches, but not that much for cat parents to do with their pets," Wen added.
The costs of the operation have been more than recouped in buzz and merchandising. "Our cat merchandise sells the best," stated Li Feng, the museum's deputy director. Li added that sales since July have topped 100 million RMB (£10.8 million).
Despite the event's success, Director Chu said the museum will not repeat 'Meowseum Nights'. "We can't do this every day, but it was a valuable outreach: cat people now have a special affection for the Shanghai Museum," he said, as reported by The Art Newspaper. Regarding the possibility of other museums following suit, he remarked, "For potential copycats, the first reaction will be: 'Are you crazy?' But we've done it, and on this huge scale: people can see it is possible."
Chu noted the growing acceptance of pets in public spaces. "Shanghai has 24 million people, and 1.3 million pet cats. But there is not much accommodation for pet cats. In recent years, the change in attitude towards cats has been big, and it is a big topic, of how to accept and live with pets," he said.
The 'On Top of the Pyramid' exhibition includes over 1,000 items, where guests can view ancient Egyptian artifacts, including those recovered from Bastet's temple in Saqqara, reports mentalfloss.com. Since its opening, the exhibition has received more than 1.25 million visitors, notes China Daily.
"We had over 80 people from animal welfare groups there to observe and give input," Chu said, according to The Art Newspaper. Extra cleaning of the space followed each session, in consideration of next-day visitors with allergies, as reported by The Art Newspaper.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.