Archive for the ‘Cat Mascots’ Category

1928: Tiger Lil, the Feline Survivor of the Sinking of the S.S. Vestris

Posted: 24th August 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, Seafaring Cats
Tags: , , , , ,
1

“No disaster story is quite complete without the rescue of at least one cat.”–Ithaca Journal, reporting on the sinking of the S.S. Vestris, November 15, 1928

On November 10, 1928, just around 4 p.m., the S.S. Vestris of the Lamport and Holt Line left her pier on the East River in Brooklyn. The steam ocean liner, which transported passengers from New York to South America and Liverpool, was bound for the Rio de la Plata with 128 human passengers, 198 crew members, and one feline mascot.

Nearly one-third of the people on board would not survive the trip. The cat would make it.

1903: C. Buster, the battleship cat treated at the Fort Greene Hospital for Dogs and Cats

Posted: 27th July 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, Cat Stories
Tags: , , , ,
0

There was much sorrow and indignation among the men on board the USS Indiana on April 27, 1903. That day, there were about six men on the battleship’s sick list. C. Buster, the battleship cat, was also on the sick list.

“C. Buster!” the ship’s surgeon called out. Letting out a plaintive meow and hopping on three legs, the battleship cat responded to the doctor’s summons. Not able to explain his injury, the cat held up his paw and allowed the doctor to examine it…

The Pole-Dancing Fire Cats of Gotham

Posted: 14th July 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, FDNY Horses/Mascots
Tags: , , , ,
1

Here’s a tribute to a few “pole-dancing” fire cats that I’ve featured in earlier posts, as well as some snippets of fire-cat stories that will be in my upcoming book on FDNY animal mascots (in other words, this is a tease…)

1915: Bouncer, Nellie, and Willie, the Cats and Goat of Fire Patrol 3

Posted: 1st April 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, FDNY Horses/Mascots
Tags: , , , ,
0

Five years after their new house opened, the patrolmen were still without a mascot. They wanted one, but they did not want a canine mascot. As a salvage corps, the men of Fire Patrol 3 had an immense territory to cover—from river to river and from 14th Street to 57th Street—which made it impractical for them to have a dog trained to follow the apparatus to fires.

So, when the opportunity to acquire a proper mascot presented itself at a fire at Seventh Avenue and Twenty-Eighth Street in October 1900, the men acted immediately.

1903, 1936: The Dog and Cat Mascots of FDNY Engine Company No. 65

Posted: 19th February 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, Dog Mascots, FDNY Horses/Mascots
Tags: , , , , ,
0

In 1903, one of the most popular dog-and-cat dynamic duos of the FDNY were Dan and Nickie* of Engine Company No. 65. Forty years later, Chappy and Henry the pole-sliding cat were the canine and feline stars of the fire company. Here are their stories and photos.

Older Entries
Newer Entries