I recently learned that there is a large cat colony on Rikers Island, where hundreds of feral cats have been living for many years (most of the original cats had been dumped on the island by employees of the large correctional facility there). The cats are cared for by volunteers with a group called Rikers […]
Archive for the ‘Cat Stories’ Category
1915: Bill Nichols, the Cat Who Could Have Been a Rikers Island Hero
Posted: 21st October 2026 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Dog TailsTags: Abraham Rycken Van Lent, Katharine B. Davis, Reverend William Nichols, Rikers Island, RIkers Island Cat Rescue
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1930s: Johnny and Snooky, the Aristocratic Cats of Montague Street
Posted: 20th August 2026 by The Hatching Cat in Cat StoriesTags: 62 Montague Street, Anna Juliette Osborn, Cats of Old New York, Jane Donaldson Myers, Lady Mary wortley Montagu
Johnny was a fancy-schmancy feline. So it’s no surprise that the pampered pet lived in one of the fanciest apartment buildings in Brooklyn Heights, at 62 Montague Street. Johnny was a black Persian cat owned by Mrs. Gordon Gray (nee Jane Donaldson Myers). Jane Gray was a childless widow and a proud Daughter of the […]
Hatching Cat Talks Grimalkins on the Gilded Gentleman
Posted: 22nd May 2026 by The Hatching Cat in Cat StoriesTags: Cat Stories, Cats of Old New York, New York City History
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 […]
1894: The Astor Kitten Who Caused a Stir at 320 Fifth Avenue
Posted: 7th May 2026 by The Hatching Cat in Cat StoriesTags: Albert Bierstadt, Charlotte Augusta Astor, Fifth Avenue, Hallet Alsop Borrowe, James Coleman Drayton, Mary Bell, New York City History
When a little black and white kitten fell from a ledge on Fifth Avenue, everyone who witnessed the event placed the blame on the ASPCA and the fire department. We’ll never know who was at fault, but what I want to know is this: Was this in fact a pet cat of Charlotte Augusta Astor? […]
1905: Malta, the Wandering Cat of NYC Financier Russell Sage
Posted: 20th February 2026 by The Hatching Cat in Cat StoriesTags: Cats of Old New York, Columbia University, Elgin Botanic Garden, Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, New York City History, Russell Sage
New York City financier Russell Sage, aka Uncle Russell, had a reputation on Wall Street as being a spendthrift, a workaholic, and a ruthless money lender without emotion. So when he failed to show up at work after offering a $10 reward for the return of his missing cat, his financial cronies thought he’d gone mad.
