1914: Caliph Murphy II, the Hippo That Saved the Central Park Lion House
Picture this: It's a chilly December night in 1914, and the Central Park Menagerie is quiet. Suddenly, a roar unlike any other shatters the peace.
Cats About Town Tours
NYC Cat Stories
Old newspaper stories, court records, photos, and forgotten city oddities, researched by Peggy Gavan of The Hatching Cat.
1912: Captain, the New York City Feline Mascot of the RMS Carpathia
Everyone knows the story of the Titanic. But have you heard the one about the Broadway chorus girls, a hero sea captain, and the tiny black kitten that became a New York City celebrity in the disaster's wake?
1912: The Cat Lady of Hoyt Street, Brooklyn, and the Mysterious Thanksgiving Day Fire
Next time you’re navigating the bustling sidewalks of Downtown Brooklyn, picture this: wedged between the glittering department stores of a century ago, in a tiny, shabby apartment, lived a woman who wouldn’t go a day without her twelve cats.
1912: Tipsy, the Expert Midtown Mouser Who Helped Police Solve a Murder
Forget Sherlock Holmes. In 1912, the best detective in Midtown Manhattan had four paws, a tail, and a knack for finding more than just mice. This is the story of Tipsy, the furry hero who helped the NYPD solve a gruesome murder.
1910: Nellie, the Beloved Class Cat of Brooklyn’s Van Pelt Manor Grammar School
Ever heard of the Brooklyn cat so beloved that her death sparked a courtroom drama? Meet Nellie, the unofficial mascot of a Bensonhurst grammar school, whose story is one of New York’s most charming and forgotten animal tales.
1908: Haggerino the Harlem Tramp Cat of West 115th Street
The story of Old New York featuring a cat stuck in a tree on West 115th Street, two little boys named Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, a Harlem police cat named Tom Findlay, and the remarkable spiritual history of the neighborhood.
1908: Kingsley Swan and Yankee Stone, His Champion Bulldog Murdered in Brooklyn
Picture this: It’s just after midnight on a cold December night in 1908. You’re on Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn, the borough’s Gilded Age “Gold Coast,” a street lined with the magnificent mansions of New York’s wealthiest families.
1908: Tommie Blackberry, the MacDougal Street Nursery Cat With Ties to a Famous Anti-Suffragist
Ever wander through SoHo and wonder about the ghosts of residents past? Well, it turns out some of them had four legs and a tail.
1908: The Lion Cub That Lived at The Plaza Hotel With Princess Lwoff-Parlaghy
The next time you walk past the iconic Plaza Hotel, imagine this: a fluffy, six-week-old lion cub padding down a gilded hallway. Sound like a movie? Nope, just another Tuesday in Gilded Age New York.
1907: Patrolman Joseph Probst Jr. of Richmond Hill and His Equine Partner
Ever wonder if animals can solve mysteries? In early 20th-century New York, one police horse proved they absolutely could. Picture this: It’s May 1910. Mounted Patrolman Joseph Probst Jr.
1906: Lulu Grover and the East Harlem Cats She Bequeathed to President Roosevelt
Picture this: It’s a chilly December weekend in 1906. You’re a police officer called to an apartment in East Harlem. Inside, you find a tragic scene, and a note addressed to you.
1904: The 80-180 Felines of Caroline Ewen, the Wealthy Cat Lady of East Harlem
Ever walked through East Harlem and wondered about the stories hidden inside its classic brownstones? Well, get ready for one of the wildest. We’re going back to 1904, to a three-story house that was home to one woman… and up to 180 cats.