Posts Tagged ‘New York City History’

In February 1908, Lieutenant John J. Lussier retired from the New York Police Department. He and his family left their home in Brooklyn, and moved to Utica, New York. According to The Sun, the lieutenant took everything with him except his favorite police cat, Commissioner. What a surprise when the cat showed up in Utica 2 months later!

On April 24, 1904, The New York Times reported that Bull, the famous black mascot cat of the Cotton Exchange, had gone on strike. A few days later, the price of cotton had dropped $13 a bale. Many newspapers, including The New York Times, reported that Bull the cat was responsible for the sudden bear market and the Cotton King’s downfall.

During the 1916 polio epidemic, 80,000 New York City pets died in the ASPCA gas chambers because people were misinformed and thought that pets caused polio. Now, COVID is causing similar irrational fears among pet owners, who worry their cats and dogs could spread the virus.

One week after a fire gutted the offices of Adams Express on Broadway, cats of all colors and sizes were seen prowling around the financial district. Tenants in neighboring office and residential buildings began receiving visits from these strange cats, who were in turn trying to make new deals to be adopted and furnished with food and lodging.

On March 27, 1904, a mother cat and her kittens tried to attend Bishop Henry C. Potter’s confirmation service at the new Episcopal Church of the Archangel on St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem.