History of the Algonquin Cat
The Algonquin Cat has an iconic and storied history; it was first believed to have debuted in the 1930s, when a stray cat came wandering into our hotel searching for food and water. After acquiring an out-of-print book written by our hotel's first general manager, Frank Case, discovered a chapter about a cat named Billy. Based on the timeline of the book, its now clear that The Algonquin Cat dates back to the early 1920s! Shockingly, two days after Billy passed, another stray cat wandered into the hotel and The Algonquin welcomed Rusty. The famous classical actor, John Barrymore, was a hotel resident during the early 1930s; Rusty was renamed Hamlet in his honor, as Hamlet was arguably Barrymore's greatest stage role. Since that time, our hotel has welcomed 12 cats. In addition to Billy, there have been seven Hamlets and three Matildas; each has been a rescue. Matilda III has recently retired after seven years of service. We now welcome Hamlet VIII, who began his residence in August of 2017 and is the first male cat at our hotel in 30 years.