The Key Marco Cat Statue

A tall statue of a cat creature stands out front of Florida's Marco Island Historical Museum, a fascinating replica of a mysterious local artifact.

In 1896 a Smithsonian expedition to Marco Island began to excavate a muck-filled pond, known as the “Court of the Pile Dwellers.” In it they found, deep in the preserving muck below, the Key Marco Cat, a 6-inch wooden carving of a kneeling man-cat/cat-man, likely carved by the native Calusa people.

Currently, the world-famous Key Marco Cat is on display at the Marco Island Historical Museum on an extended loan from the Smithsonian Institution. Along with the fascinating cat-human statuette, you may see various Key Marco Artifacts uncovered from that same excavation, on loan from the Penn Museum. 

You can also bask in the aura, history, and mystery of the cat, by visiting a giant replica of the artifact in the courtyard of the Marco Island Historical Museum.