Cats in the Mews: February 3, 1901
Sergeant John McDermott, better known as Red McDermott, could not wait to sink his teeth into the sirloin steak dinner sitting on his desk. But first, he had to deal with some important police matters that Inspector Cross had brought to his attention. Peter the police cat saw his lucky break…
According to The New York Times, the doorman for the Eldridge Street police station had just delivered the savory steak smothered in onions to the sergeant’s office. He placed the take-out tray on the desk and returned to his other duties.
At this very moment, Inspector Adam A. Cross walked into the station and immediately began asking questions. A moment later, a patrolman walked in with a disorderly, inebriated prisoner. Sergeant McDermott had no other choice but to delay his supper while he dealt with the inspector and the prisoner.
As the sergeant assisted with the prisoner, Inspector Cross leaned back in his chair to get a better view inside McDermott’s office. He was very surprised to be a first-hand witness to a cat-burglary in progress!
There was Peter, the station’s police cat, pushing off the tin cover from the tray and using his nose to nudge the onions off the steak. And there was Yaller, the station’s police dog, standing on his hind legs at a respectful distance, licking his chops and whining for a share of the stolen meal. Peter growled in response and continued devouring the steak.
Greatly amused, the inspector decided to allow the crime to continue while he distracted Sergeant McDermott with animated conversation concerning the weather, the depth of the snowfall, and numerous other irrelevant questions. Ravenously hungry and annoyed at the nonsense banter, McDermott again had no other choice but to listen patiently to his superior officer.
Finally, the inspector rose from his chair. Buttoning his coat, he walked over to the door and called back, “Red, when you get Peter thoroughly trained, I’d like to enter him in the next beef-eating contest.”
McDermott dashed into his room, where he found the police cat licking the empty tray and poor Yaller still licking his empty chops. The doorman brought the sergeant another steak dinner, and sent Peter out into the cold for a while to pay for his crime.
If you liked this story, you might enjoy reading more about Yaller and Topsy, who was the station’s police cat after Peter’s reign. Or, for another tale about a steak-stealing police cat named Bill, check out 1904–1922: Pete, Bill, and Tammy, the Mousers on the Job in Morrisania.
