It is a piece of embroidery stitched by Mary Queen of Scots while she was the unwilling 'guest' (or prisoner) of Queen Elizabeth. It is thought to date from between 1569 to 1584 when Mary was in the custody of George, Earl of Shrewsbury, near Sheffield, a span of fifteen years. She was a close friend of the Earl's wife Elizabeth, the forceful character known as "Bess of Hardwick". The two ladies often designed embroideries together. I wonder which of these fascinating characters had the wit and audacity to devise this theme! It shows a large well-rounded, but fierce ginger cat with its paw on the tail of a small black mouse which is trying to 'exit right', as they say in the theatre!