The Cat Lady House in Burlington, Ontario stands out for many explorers because it was the first place where they had an opportunity to explore their first time capsule house. It was first discovered by the explorer known as Freaktography.
A time capsule is a reference to a location that’s been perfectly preserved for several years if not decades. The house was located at 4250 Walker’s Line in Burlington, Ontario.
It belonged to Flora Fern Miller (b. 1909). Flora and her husband Simon McCullough moved to the city of Burlington during the 1970s.
Flora, now retired, decided to open a hobby farm under the name of Ferndale Farms.
Animals on the farm included ducks, geese, and racing horses. Fern also provided care for the neighbour’s horses.
The 43-acre Cat Lady House property was home to many animals that randomly showed up to the farm, “Outsiders” as Fern called them. The animals included 24 raccoons, 3 opossums, a wolf named Pinocchio, 5 deer and several rabbits.
As Fern grew older, she sought the assistance of neighbours for help with feeding the animals and cleaning the barn.
To avoid being snowed in during the winter, Fern had a second house built close to Walker’s Line. The older house was given to a couple who in turn would help in the upkeep of the aging property.
Fern was an avid lover of cats. She owned between seven to ten cats. Her house was filled with cat decorations, cat scrapbooks, cat calendars, cat ceramics, and of course pictures of her cats.
Fern owned a Cadillac that had cats airbrushed onto the body and a custom license plate “Cats 14”.
The house was uniquely decorated with almost every room in the home covered in wallpaper including the ceilings. Even the bathroom was wallpapered!
When Fern was hospitalized in 1995, she had a friend visit her three times a day to care for her and to deliver meals. This friend would regularly visit Fern to provide her with food, take her for ice cream, etc.
With her health fading, Fern signed a “Do Not Resuscitate” order on February 17, 2000. She passed away the following day.
Fern had previously expressed a desire for her property to be used as a conservation area or wildlife refuge and that some of her belongings be given to the Oakville Humane Society.
It appears that a legal dispute arose between the person once responsible for her care and with Conservation Halton, the organization some believe Fern willed her property to.
Some of the items found by explorers included a note left on the fridge instructing “Dad” to handle the kittens three times daily. There were various items spilled across the kitchen counters though the kitchen was remarkably intact.
There were medication containers in the kitchen and personal hygiene items on the bathroom counter. The fridge contained food from 2002.
An unmistakable smell of cat urine hung in the air from the litter boxes stacked on top of another.
Within a year portions of the ceiling began to fall down. By 2013, vandals had found the property and spray painted the walls and television.
By 2014 most everything inside had been tossed about, destroyed, succumbed to natural events or been stolen. In 2014 a German medium (a person who can speak with the deceased) alleged that Fern contacted her stating that she was still living in the house.
The story of the Cat Lady House came to an end on February 2nd, 2016 when it was destroyed by arson.
A new home has been built on the property. And so ends the story of the Burlington Cat Lady.
