A Visit with Matilda at the Algonquin Hotel

Steve and his female (my humans) are back from their visit to New York City, and as I had hoped, they were granted an audience with Matilda, the house cat at the famous Algonquin Hotel. When Steve and the female entered the hotel and asked to see Matilda, they were told that she was off-duty and not seeing anyone. Fortunately, Steve used his cache as the co-author of The World Is Your Litter Box, and voila… they were led into the inner sanctum at the Algonquin – well, okay, the luggage room – where they found Matilda resting from the rigors of her job running the hotel and looking cute for the guests. That’s Steve in the photo above, giving Matilda a well-deserved petting.

Later, Steve and his female had drinks at the Algonquin (which were ouchie-expensive, but what the hay), and what did they discover right behind their chairs… one of Matilda’s favorite sleeping places, as evidenced by the authentic Matilda kitty hair in the photo below...

Matilda, who is the latest in a long line of house kitties dating back to the 1930s at the Algonquin, is very sweet, so if your humans live in or go to New York City, be sure they stop in and say hello. And tell her Quasi sent you.

DAVE & PIPER'S NOT-SO-EXCELLENT ADVENTURE

This week, Paula (our literary agent) is relocating from Burbank, California to New York City. What with packing all her stuff and the normal stress associated with moving, Paula has been pretty freaked out lately. But that’s nothing compared to what her kitties, Dave and Piper, are going through. Even though Dave is a rough-tough mancat (like me) and Piper is relatively fearless under normal circumstances, this has been a not-so-excellent adventure for them.

First, Dave and Piper had to endure the packing up of all the furniture and household goods… very traumatic when you consider that even moving a favorite paper bag three inches to the left can be totally discombobulating for a kitty. Then they had to spend two nights with Paula in a hotel… bad enough on its own, but there was NO MIXED GRILL on the room service menu! But that’s small potatoes compared to what’s going to happen on Thursday, when Paula, Dave and Piper fly to New York. After being transported from the hotel to the Burbank airport (scary enough right there), Dave and Piper must go through security, which means they will be taken out of their kitty totes and physically carried through the metal detector. Then they’ll fly through the air in a large metal cylinder with wings, thousands of feet above the earth, and land in an entirely different city. I get sweaty paws just thinking about it! Fortunately, Dave and Piper will be high on kitty tranquilizers provided by the hated vet, so hopefully, they’ll sleep through most of this.

Anyway, I’m sure all will end well. Once Dave and Piper get to their new home and the furniture arrives, and once they scent everything to their liking, all will return to normal and they’ll become official New York City kitties. And don’t worry, Dave and Piper… I’ll be sure to come visit, and when I do, when can go down into the subway and catch some delicious rats together!

HAPPY LANDINGS (FORTUNATELY!)

Here’s a little story about a kitty escapade that could have gone horribly wrong, but instead, has a happy ending… or, perhaps I should say, a happy landing.

Last week, a 3-year-old cat named Lucky (appropriately) managed to work his way out a window on the 26th floor of an apartment in New York City for a little high altitude exploring on a ledge. The window had been opened just a few inches by Lucky’s human, Keri Hostetler, who wanted to let in a little fresh air before some guests arrived. Lucky was doing fine until he tried to turn a corner and discovered, too late, that the ledge he was on didn’t extend any further. Lucky found himself airborne and falling fast, but here’s the miracle… even though he landed on a cement balcony 26 floors down (on his feet, of course), Lucky survived with only minor injuries. He was taken to the hated vet, where he was patched up and is expected to make a full recovery.

So let this be a lesson to all you kitties who live in high places… better stick to cupboards and closets when you feel like exploring and leave the sky to birds, bugs, butterflies and humans with parachutes. And Lucky, we’re so glad you lived to purr another day!

SEX AND THE CITY

Last weekend, Steve and his female saw Sex and the City, the movie based on the HBO show about four close girl friends and their adventures in New York City. I’m sure Steve would have rather seen something more manly and lowbrow, but he actually liked the movie and earned major metrosexual points with the female. Also, I’m sure he enjoyed seeing the moviegoing female humans who dressed up in little cocktail dresses to get into the spirit of the film.

Now, from what I remember about the show on HBO, these girls were always in some state of turmoil and confusion, supposedly with issues involving male humans. But I think the real problem is that none of these girls, in the movie anyway, had cats… in fact, one of them even had a DOG, horror of horrors! And as we all know, life without a cat can be barren and lonely, even in a bustling, exciting place like Manhattan.