The Kattenkabinet occupies a genuine 17th-century canal house on Herengracht, founded in the 1990s by a collector in memory of his cat, John Pierpont Morgan (named after the financier). What started as a personal tribute grew into a real, ongoing collection of cat-themed paintings, sculptures and objects spanning centuries — including works connected to genuinely significant artists, alongside the building's own resident cats.
Why it's more than a novelty
Cats have appeared in art across centuries and cultures for genuine symbolic and decorative reasons, and this museum traces that thread with real curatorial seriousness rather than treating it purely as a gimmick — a specific, well-executed niche museum in the same spirit as the Pijpenkabinet or Pianola Museum, both covered in dedicated guides.
The museum keeps live resident cats on-site as part of its ongoing tradition — a detail that delights some visitors and is worth knowing in advance for anyone with allergies.
What's actually inside
Paintings, prints, sculptures and decorative objects featuring cats, arranged across period rooms in the genuine canal house — giving it some of the same historic-interior appeal as Willet-Holthuysen or Museum Van Loon, both covered elsewhere on this site, layered with its specific collecting theme.
Realistic timing
A compact visit — 30–45 minutes covers it comfortably.
Getting there
On Herengracht in the canal ring, easy to combine with other Golden Bend canal-house museums covered in dedicated guides.
This guide is reviewed and updated as part of our weekly refresh.