 The repairs to the cat were carried out by Major Gayer-Anderson, who was a keen restorer of antiquities in the 1930s.When he bought it, the surface of the cat was "covered with a heavy coating of crystalline verdigris and crisp flakes of red patina" which he carefully chipped away.The cat was manufactured by the lost wax method, where a wax model is covered with clay and fired in a kiln until the wax flows out, and the hollow mould is refilled with molten metal.