Mariana Zechini, Archaeology Lab Analyst, George Washington’s Mount Vernon
A total of 94 cat bones from the 2024 and 2018 excavations were found. Photo by George Brown.
During recent excavations of Mount Vernon’s cellar, archaeologists discovered 94 bones belonging to a cat. Some of the cat’s bones exhibited an interesting pathology, telling us more about one of this cat’s nine lives!
Domestic cats were common on 18th century sites as ratters and mousers, so the skeleton itself is an interesting, but not surprising, find. Domestic cat bones have been found elsewhere at Mount Vernon, including two mandibles excavated from the kitchen and one from the House for Families quarter1. However, both mandibles of the cat recovered from the Mansion cellar show signs of alveolar resorption, a process of bone reformation along teeth sockets following tooth loss or disease2.
The mandibles show signs of alveolar resorption, indicating the cat may have been fed by someone in order to survive. The right mandible (top) was found in 2024 and the left mandible (bottom) was found in 2018 and mend to each other. Photo by George Brown.
Missing teeth meant the cat may have struggled to hunt on its own and consume its prey, but the presence of alveolar bone remodeling suggests that someone cared for this cat, keeping it fed for several months to years as its tooth sockets filled with new bone. The fusion of bones present in the assemblage demonstrates the cat was an adult, although an exact age remains unclear. While alveolar resorption can occur at any time in a cat’s life, the chance of tooth loss and disease increases with age, suggesting the cat may have been a mature animal. Unfortunately, the cat’s cranium – the rest of the skull above the lower jaw – is missing, so it is impossible to determine if alveolar resorption is present on the maxillae as well.
Caption: A close up of the right mandible showing alveolar resorption and bone remodeling. Photo by George Brown.
No documentary evidence regarding cats as pets during George Washington’s tenure at Mount Vernon has been found, and the cat cannot be definitively connected to any person at the estate. George and Martha were more invested in their pet birds and dogs, and in fact, Martha’s granddaughter Nelly Custis, who came to live at Mount Vernon in 1781 expressed her disdain for cats in a 1797 letter to her best friend3. The lack of documentary evidence for cats as pets in the Washington family may indicate that the cat was cared for by enslaved workers who labored in the cellar where the cat was eventually found. Records indicate that the enslaved Lee family – Lucy, Frank, and their children – lived in the basement, but not until the 1790s after the cat’s skeleton was deposited.
It is unclear how the cat’s remains ended up in the cellar. Most of the bones were burned and were found scattered among three adjacent units near the bottom of a stairwell. Current archaeological and architectural research suggests that the staircase may have been constructed as early as the 1740s when Lawrence Washington, George’s older half-brother, owned Mount Vernon, or possibly in the 1750s when Washington arrived and began making large-scale changes across the plantation. Thus, the cat likely died and was deposited in the cellar sometime between 1740-17604.
ArchGIS Ortho map of the basement. Most of the burned cat bones were found in unit B04-4 and its features. Unburned cat bones were found in units 22 and 23. Maps by Nick Beard.
Most of the burned cat bones were localized in one unit near the bottom of the staircase, although eight unburned cat bones were found intwo adjacent units. As the mansion grew, this room underwent several periods of remodeling, including the addition of a paved floor installed around the 1770s. While no indication of a burial of the remains has been identified, the archaeological evidence of an internment could have been destroyed during the various campaigns of construction that occurred in the space. Alternately, the bones may have been part of fill that was brought in to the cellar and scattered during leveling. No documentary evidence of a fire in this part of the room exists, however a small one may have occurred that was never recorded, burning a few of the bones. While the cat’s exact fate remains unknown, it is clear its skeleton was heavily disturbed by frequent construction.
The opening of B04-4E, the layer containing most of the cat skeleton. The purple arrow indicates the area where most of the cat bones were found and the white arrow indicates the landing of the stairwell. Photo by Kyle Vanhoy.
Excavation of the cellar and analysis of the faunal material found there is ongoing. Although the full story of the cat may never be known, this unique find provides an exciting opportunity to rethink the relationships between humans and animals at Mount Vernon.
Special thanks to Magen Hodapp for zooarchaeological consultation, George Brown for photographing the bones, and the Mount Vernon Archaeology team for answering my constant questions!
1 Bowen, Joanne. 2015. Faunal Analysis for Mount Vernon. Report to Eleanor Breen, Historic Mount Vernon, Historic Preservation Department, Mount Vernon, VA.
2 White, Tim D., Michael T. Black, Pieter A. Folkens. 2012. Human Osteology, 3rd Edition. Elsevier, Inc. Burlington, Massachusetts.
3 Thompson, Mary. 2020. “On one side I am called upon to remember the Parrot, on the other to remember the dog”: George Washington and Animals, Domestic and Exotic. Unpublished paper, Mount Vernon Ladies Association, Mount Vernon, VA.
4 Reinhart, Tom, Carhart, Lily, Boroughs, Jason. 2025. Personal Communication.