Cursed cat

I took my brother in law to the museum this afternoon. He was intrigued by the old police station cat. In the 1980s it was handed into lost property at Petersfield police station. Nobody claimed it, and so it was placed on top of the hand bell at reception. Since then, it was said that anyone who removed the cat from the bell would be cursed to leave Petersfield and serve elsewhere. Presumably the local beat was seen as a bit cushy.