1903: The Poor Stray Cats That Sparked an Explosion at the SPCA Shelter

Posted: 14th November 2019 by The Hatching Cat in Animal Stories, Cat Stories
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Warning to my readers: This story about a tragic event at New York City’s SPCA Shelter for Animals is not a happy one. It is, in fact, incredibly disturbing. And it was very hard to write.

It involves injury and cruelty and death–both human and feline. But it is an important story to tell, because it is part of mankind’s history. It is also a major part of the ASPCA’s 150-year history in New York.

This sad tale opens our eyes to the historical treatment of animals, and shows us how much progress we’ve made when it comes to treating cats, dogs, and all animals with dignity and compassion. We still have a long way to go, especially when it comes to ensuring that every shelter is a no-kill shelter. We cannot let this history ever repeat itself.

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1921: The Pitkin Avenue Fire Cat and Her Lucky Halloween Kittens

Posted: 31st October 2019 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories
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We return to Brooklyn–just about 20 blocks east of the “lacteal orgy” that occurred 14 years earlier in Bedford–for another delightful cat tale that took place on Halloween on Pitkin Avenue in Brownsville. No tricks, only some treats (including some interesting facts about how Pitkin Avenue came about–a group of “Wheelmen” get most of the credit).

When a fire broke out on Halloween at 1632-1640 Pitkin Avenue in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, a mama cat was not about to let the firemen ignore her box of kittens.
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1907: The Bedford Cats of Brooklyn Who Swam in Milk on Bergen Street, Part II

Posted: 27th October 2019 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories
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“Midnight prowlers and back-fence howlers enjoyed a lacteal orgy yesterday morning at the expense of William Evans, 250 Herkimer Street, whose milk wagon was struck by a Bergen Street trolley car.” New York Sun, June 30, 1907
“Midnight prowlers and back-fence howlers enjoyed a lacteal orgy yesterday morning at the expense of William Evans, 250 Herkimer Street, whose milk wagon was struck by a Bergen Street trolley car.”
New York Sun, June 30, 1907

In Part 1 of this delightful Brooklyn cat tale, I shared the first half of a story about drunken kitties, which was published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in June 1907. In Part II, I will complete this feline tale of Bergen Street and also provide a few more historical details about the old hamlet of Bedford, its quaintly named town center, Bedford Corners, and the Lefferts family who settled there.

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1907: The Bedford, Brooklyn Cats Who Swam in Milk on Bergen Street, Part I

Posted: 20th October 2019 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories
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"Midnight prowlers and back-fence howlers enjoyed a lacteal orgy yesterday morning at the expense of William Evans, 250 Herkimer Street, whose milk wagon was struck by a Bergen Street trolley car." New York Sun, June 30, 1907
“Midnight prowlers and back-fence howlers enjoyed a lacteal orgy yesterday morning at the expense of William Evans, 250 Herkimer Street, whose milk wagon was struck by a Bergen Street trolley car.”
New York Sun, June 30, 1907

When I discovered this Brooklyn cat story while doing research for my story about political cats Lem and Tiger, I couldn’t stop smiling. The story was so colorfully written! And the history of the old Bedford Corners is fascinating, too.

I realized I would have to share most of the old news article word-for-word so that my readers could enjoy it as much as I did. I could not do it justice by paraphrasing the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reporter.

The story is rather long (almost two full columns of newsprint), so I’m going to break it up into two parts. I’ll incorporate a brief history of Bedford Corners into both sections to set the scene and provide additional information for those who are interested in exploring the history of the neighborhood in which this fabulous feline story took place.

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1898: Lem and Tiger, the Republican and Tammany Hall Cats of the New York Elections

Posted: 2nd October 2019 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, Cat Men
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The tiger was the symbol of the Tammany Hall political machine in New York City
The tiger was the symbol of the Tammany Hall political machine in New York City

On October 20, 1898–the day the Republican candidate for Congress in New York City’s Fourteenth District opened his headquarters at 263 West 125th Street–many of his supporters thought it was a foregone conclusion that he would defeat the Tammany Hall candidate in the November election. The reason they thought the Republican incumbent had the election in the bag? A large black cat had walked in and taken possession of the Republican headquarters as soon as it opened to the public.

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