The cat of the Sunshine Hotel is not a cat of Old New York. But the building where this resident mouser made his home in the 1990s, 241 Bowery, has an interesting history dating back to the 1830s with ties to much larger animals and old-time Bowery characters with names like Beefsteak John and Chick Tricker.
Archive for the ‘Cat Stories’ Category
241 Bowery: The Photo-Bombing Flophouse Cat of the Sunshine Hotel
Posted: 21st October 2023 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Horse TalesTags: 241 Bowery, Cats of New York, New York and Harlem Railroad, NYC History, Sultan Divan, Sunshine Hotel, The Bowery
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1925: Spark Plug, the Feisty Feline of Brooklyn’s Stagg Street Police Station
Posted: 28th September 2023 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, Cat StoriesTags: Abraham Meserole, Cats of Old New York, NYPD history, police cats, Stagg Street, Williamsburg Houses
When the police began incarcerating stray cats in the jail cells at the Stagg Street station, their mascot cat was none too pleased to share his home with the mongrel intruders. He was willing to put up a good fight to preserve his domain.
1884: Tabby, the Staten Island Cat of Eltingville Set Out to Sea for 9 Days
Posted: 20th August 2023 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cats in the MewsTags: Cats of Old New York, New York History, Noah Elting, Staten Island history
Although she lived through three storms while at sea in a small rowboat, Tabby the cat never lost even one of her nine lives during her nine days in the Sandy Hook Bay.
1944: The Chimney Cat Rescue of West Farms
Posted: 27th July 2023 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cats in the MewsTags: Adriatic Hotel, Bryant Avenue, Cats of Old New York, Rose Colgan, Thomas Walker, West Farms
In April 1944, an unnamed cat fell down the chimney of a six-story apartment building at 1973 Bryant Avenue in West Farms. For four days and nights, Rose Colgan, who lived on the first floor, listened to the poor cat cry behind a wall in her department. It took four days, but she finally decided to take action.
1899: The Birthday Festival for Ko-Ko, the Revered Cat of Mrs. Edwin Knowles
Posted: 12th June 2023 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cats in the MewsTags: 868 Lafayette Avenue, Amphion Theatre, Brooklyn History, Cats of Old New York, Edwin Knowles, Sarah Goodrich Knowles
To celebrate her beloved cat’s 13th birthday, Mrs. Sarah Knowles held a fancy breakfast in his honor at her home in Brooklyn. Many newspapers across the country picked up the story and waxed poetic about the pampered cat.
