Contents
Introduction
1 Seafaring Cats
1893: The Brave and Brawny Cats of the Brooklyn Navy Yard
1898: Tom, the Old Navy Cat That Survived the USS Maine Explosion
1917-1922: Woo-Ki, Tai-Wan, and the Refugee Pirate Cats of Chelsea Piers
1929: Olaf, the Viking Cat Rescued at Sea en Route to Brooklyn
1933: Tommy Mulligan, the Norton’s Point Lighthouse Cat of Coney Island
2 Police Cats
1893: The Tombs’ Feline Warden That Befriended Prisoners on Murderers’ Row
1904–1911: Pete and Bill, the Bronx Mousers on the Job in Morrisania
1909: Claude, the Police Cat of East Harlem Who Did Justice to a Red Fox
1911: Buster and Topsy, the Rival Feline Mascots of the Lower East Side
1915: Sir Tom, the Rural Police Cat of Washington Heights
1934: Arson and Homicide, the Flat-Footed Felines of Police Headquarters
3 Fire Cats
1886: The 10 Lives of Hero, the Fire Cat of Engine Company No. 1 in Chelsea
1894: Ginger, the Shipbuilders’ Fire Cat of the Lower East Side
1895: Tootsy, the Feline Firefighter of Engine Company No. 27
1896: Peter and Chops, the Ebony and Ivory Fire Cats of the Flatiron District
1913: Peter, the Pole-Sliding Fire Cat of Bushwick, Brooklyn
1924: Smoke, the Famous Lafayette Street Firehouse Cat Who Went on Strike
4 Classical Cats
1884: Mutilator and the Legendary Newspaper Office Cats of the New York Sun
1891: Princess, Josephine, and the 101 Feline Models of Cat Artist J.H. Dolph
1895: Taffy, the Laird, and the Clowder of Town Topics Office Cats
1905: Bambino, the City Cat That Stole Away from Mark Twain
5 Hospitality Cats
1920: Minnie, the Female Mouser of a Manhattan Men-Only Speakeasy
1928: Abe, the Times Square Tiger Cat Who Refused to Scat from the Hotel Lincoln
1936: Rusty, the Famous Feline Host of the Algonquin Hotel
6 Theatrical and Show Cats
1877-1881: The Felines of the Cat Congress on Bowery and Broadway
1888: Union Square Jim, the Mascot Cat of the Union Square Theatre
1895: Nicodemus, the Prize-Winning Alley Cat of Prankster Brian G. Hughes
1932: Tommy Casanova, the Lady-Killer Cat Mascot of The Lambs
7 Civil Servant Cats
1891: Old Tom, the Brazen Pampered Pet of New York City Hall
1904: The Feline Police Squad of New York’s General Post Office
1904: Jerry Fox, the Spectacled Cat of Brooklyn Who Saved Borough Hall
1930: Tammany, the Democratic Boss Cat of New York City Hall
1939: Snooky, the Sophisticated, Salmon-Loving Cat of New York City Hall
8 Good-Luck Cats
1905: Bright Eyes, the Good-Luck Kitten of the Battery-Joralemon Tunnel
1910: Trent, the Airship Mascot Cat Who Wowed the Crowd at Gimbels
1927: Ranger I and Ranger III, the Mascot Cats of the New York Rangers
1927: Victory, the Feline Good-Luck Charm of the Brooklyn Robins
9 Lucky Cats
1899: Olympia, the Dewey Arch Cat, and Her Lucky Christmas Kittens
1904 and 1908: Holey and Gittel, the Cats with 10 Lives on the Lower East Side
1906: The East Harlem Cats Bequeathed to President Theodore Roosevelt
1912: Kaiser, the Feline Survivor of the Great Equitable Life Building Fire
1925: Blackie, the Mother Mouser Who Stopped Traffic on Lafayette Street
Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading
Index
