Cat figurine museum in Menomonee Falls nearly doubles to 7,000 pieces on display

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — A Menomonee Falls few is on a mission to not only set a Guinness Globe Report but to save as several cats as feasible though executing so.

Shawn Redner and Hilary Siegel-Redner have curated the top cat figurine assortment. They have gathered additional than 13,000 cat figurines and pieces of artwork. They have been all bought next-hand or donated to them. About fifty percent of that selection is on exhibit within their property they contact Redner’s Rescued Cat Figurine Mewseum.

“(I) can not even fathom the quantity of bucks we have invested on this put,” Shawn Redner mentioned.

The selection of cats on exhibit has nearly doubled from 4,000 in 2020, to 7,000 in July 2022. They remodeled their basement to make space for far more figurines. The remaining 5,000 are in storage.

James Groh

Each weekend the partners cruise to distinctive Goodwill’s, rummage income, and flea markets to locate new cats to increase to their assortment. There are not any duplicates.

“This is all we do. This museum has taken more than my existence,” Redner stated.

On each individual third Sunday of the month (or fourth Sunday if there is a vacation), their home is open to visitors from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations aren’t expected. It expenses $5 for grownups, and children 12 and underneath are totally free. If you want to appear on a different working day, you just have to contact them to set up a tour. Send out an e mail to rrcfmewseum@yahoo.com or get in touch with at (414) 215-4935.

James Groh

All the proceeds are donated to regional cat shelters. So far, they have lifted close to $2,000 considering that opening in August of 2020.

“We are offering again to the neighborhood,” Siegel-Redner explained.

In addition to the inanimate cats, there are eight stay cats that keep in the residence. They have a specifically made outside participate in structure that appears to be like any cat’s desire.

James Groh

But the aim just isn’t just to send donations to community shelters. The two want to make an even greater influence by opening a cat cafe and museum.

“My purpose is to hopefully go all this into a espresso store in which we can have adoptable cats, so site visitors can have a cup of coffee, ideally deliver house a cat, and then the museum will be a individual entity to the espresso store,” Redner explained.

Oddly plenty of, neither of the two ended up “cat people” escalating up. Siegel-Redner failed to even like the thought of putting up cat decorations.

“I was not on board at first. I will acknowledge that. I also grew up with dogs,” she claimed.

James Groh

That was back again in the summer season of 2018 when they 1st talked about shopping for the collectible figurines. Nonetheless, following the first wall was embellished, she was hooked.

“I’m like, you know, this is one of a kind. It is really distinct. Individuals really do not have this in their property, and how interesting is it that we have a collection of different forms of cats on our wall,” she explained.

From then on, the collection has taken on a lifestyle of its possess.

They have been aided by donations from individuals domestically and across the place. Spouse and children associates have transported the collections of their lifeless kin to the museum or donated them since they are unable to retain up the maintenance. So whilst this selection may look trivial to some, Redner sees it as staying part of someone’s id and history.

James Groh

“It can be just a cat figurine museum on the floor, but when you get down to it, it truly is Anne’s everyday living, and Jan’s lifestyle, and Barbara’s everyday living, and Sandra’s life. This is all portion of somebody’s lives. It is really not just cat collectible figurines. It is really them in essence,” Redner said.

The names he stated are individuals who have donated significant collections. In a perception, they are curating a assortment of people’s reminiscences.

The few however has a when to go prior to they crack the history. In accordance to Guinness Planet Information, the most significant collection of cat-similar products is 21,321 unique merchandise held by Carmen De Aldana from Guatemala. However, presented the truth that the two just started accumulating in 2018, they seem to be on a quite fantastic pace to split that document.

Speaking of entire world record collections, there are two Wisconsin women who have the largest collections of their respective items. Deb Hoffmann of Waukesha has the major assortment of Winnie the Pooh objects in the world with a lot more than 20,000 items. Gerda Scheuers of Ripon holds the history for the largest collection of Smurf merchandise with 11,455 unique merchandise.

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