A few months ago, I had the pleasure of being the guest of Carl Raymond on his popular podcast, The Gilded Gentleman. Carl started his podcast in 2021, and it is now at an impressive #21 on Apple’s top history podcasts.
During the hour-long program, I share many of my favorite cat stories of Old New York and answer all of Carl’s questions about the grimalkins who put their paws on New York City during the Gilded Age.
Here is a summary from his website:
Episode #130: Cats of the Gilded Age
Many people are curious about which of the famous Gilded Age families (and even those not on Fifth Avenue) had cats as pets — and the answer may surprise you. Cats nonetheless were a constant in Gilded Age New York and often performed very specific, even professional roles.
Author and unofficial “cat historian” Peggy Gavan joins the Gilded Gentleman table for a look at some of the Gilded Age’s most famous cats from Nicodeemus, who was on show at New York’s first ever cat show in 1895, to Buzzer, America’s most photographed cat (find out why), and several others.|
In addition, Peggy shares that when crucial services benefiting the welfare of cats, such as the ASPCA, other humane societies, and widespread veterinary care, came into being to protect the well-being of our feline friends.Click here to go to Episode #130.
If you have never had the opportunity to attend or tune into one my speaking presentations or taken one of my New York City walking tours with Cats About Town, I hope you’ll take some time to join Carl and me as we have some laughs and talk all about cats of the Gilded Age.And speaking of Cats About Town walking tours, we have some fun news for the 2026 season, including something new for dog lovers:
- This year we have partnered with Airbnb to make our tours more accessible to out-of-town tourists
- We have also partnered with several small and independent companies–we call them our Goody Bag Partners–who will be providing lots of kitty-tested-and-approved treats for the goody bags that every guest on our tours receive. Out new partners are:
- From the Field organic catnip
- Weruva premium cat food
- I and Love and You cat treats
- Yeowww! catnip toys
- Meowbox cat toys and treats
- And for those of you who also love or have pet dogs, or who have dog lovers in your life, we’ve added a special tour in Midtown Manhattan that explores the cats AND dogs who lived along Fifth Avenue during the Gilded Age. There are only two of these tours scheduled, so if it sounds like something you’d like to do, reserve your spot now.
