Off the Cuff

[#1]

I’m really more of a “dog” person, but I like cats and have even owned a few over the years. Yesterday I was listening to National Public Radio (NPR) and heard a story about the cats that are allowed to wander the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, one of the greatest museums in the world. The cats were first introduced by a daughter of Peter the Great and have been a part of the Hermitage ever since. The story prompted me to think about the many cats I’ve seen during my travels.

I’m always amazed when I see a cat lounging lazily onboard a boat—they hate water and therefore should hate being on a boat! But even with their natural aversion to water, almost every bateaux-mouches (riverboat) I saw on the Seine in Paris seemed to have a cat sleeping on deck—almost like a figurehead on the prow of a ship. And I saw several cats sleeping in the sun while precariously perched on the seawall in Tangier, Morocco. It was high tide and the waves were lapping near the top of the wall, but the cats just snoozed on, oblivious to the water.

When I lived in Germany, the owners of the bakery across the street lived on the second floor above the shop and had a black cat that sat in the window watching the customers come and go. Whenever a customer entered the bakery, the cat would pace back and forth on the windowsill until the customer left. I have no idea why it did that! When I visited the island of Mykonos during off-season, there were only a few people wandering the crooked cobblestones through the houses and shops. I was amazed to find several cats curled up next to pelicans napping in the sunshine on a low wall or rooftop in the quiet streets. It was a bizarre sight to see one of these big birds with a cat curled up next to it, both sleeping cozily together!

My favorite cat, though, is Matilda, who lives at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City. Although Matilda is free to roam throughout the hotel, except for the kitchen and dining room, you’ll usually find her on her personal chaise in the lobby or on the check-in counter! The tradition of having a cat at the Algonquin began in the 1930s, when a stray orange tabby wandered in, hungry and wet. The hotel’s owner gave the cat milk in a champagne glass and the cat, of course, stayed on. Since then, there has always been a cat at the Algonquin, most of who are adopted from local shelters. If the cat is a male, it is named Hamlet, and if it is female, its name is Matilda. The current Matilda is the ninth cat to live at the Algonquin Hotel

While traveling, I’ve seen cats in the back window of cars; cats being walked on leashes in London; and cats being worn by their owners around their shoulders as if they were a shawl. But I’m never sure if humans own a cat or if the cat just indulges us with their presence. They are interesting creatures and have managed to amuse me on my travels whenever I’ve encountered one. And regardless of where I’ve found them, cats still seem to be as aloof and mysterious as they are here!

[#2]

Loved this story!

[#3]

Thank you!  You must like cats too!

[#4]

Your article on "cats" was delightful......of course, I am a lover of cats......my daughter goes so far as to capture the many feral cats about her property and will take and pay for spaying or neutering the veterinarian for shots, etecetera....she cannot stand  baby kittens running around perhaps starving or being mistreated in any way......and that does happen too much......I enjoyed your many articles on cruising Europe and the "canal boats" in particular, I would love travelling on one throughout the countryside......anyway, thank you for inviting me to comment!....(the furthest I have been is to England when my hubby was in the US Air Force, and, yes!  there was a cat in almost every window in the countryside.....the "brits" love their cats!  (dogs and horses too!) ......thanks again,  Edta Kjar

[#5]

Thank you for your comment!  Thank goodness there are kind-hearted people like your daughter who take care of the feral cats and feel strongly about ensuring cats are not mistreated.

Our boat trip on the river in France is my all-time favorite vacation -- I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever wanted to take a canal or barge trip.  We self-skippered (which meant we had to do some work too), but it was an awesome vacation.

My love of travel stems from my husband's being assigned to Heidelberg, Germany when he was in the U.S. Army.  That experience of living there for 4 years made me want to travel all over the world.  And yes, there are wonderful cats all over the world!  And wonderful dogs, horses... and cows too!  I loved the cows in Switzerland and Southern Germany -- so beautiful and well-cared for.

[#6]

I particularly loved your story about the Algonquin Hotel cats. That is so cool that the hotel has had an in-house cat since the 1930's. And your mention of Mykonos brought back old memories. I spent years living in Athens as a graduate student (and then as a conservation intern) and would often travel to the islands or throughout the mainland taking students on archaeological tours. There were always cats. Sleeping stretched out on sun-baked ruins, trolling under the tables of outdoor tavernas, napping in doorways. There are so ubiquitous there that a photographer actually put out a large, beautiful volume called Cats in the Sun.

[#7]

That was a lovely article.I enjoy cats so much.I have a number of my own, who wander in and out of our garden enjoying the sunny paths and watching the birds. We have a fountain in the center of my herb garden that bubbles and spouts water, and it has become an outdoor water bowl for the cats. I have also planted things they enjoy, like catnip, to keep them from rolling around in my other perennials.

[#8]

I read this paranormal romance novel the other day and the heroine, not knowing the hero is a werecat, gives him iced tea with catnip in it and he gets all silly and slurs his words. lol

[#9]

Speaking of cats in books, there's a great short story by the Scottish writer H.H. Munro (whose pen name was Saki).  I'll have to dig up its title (which I can't remember right now).  But it takes place in an English country house where many people gather for a long weekend.  One of the guests says he can speak to animals and the other guests scoff at this.  There's a wonderful twist at the end in which they realize he's right and they're all terrified about what they've said (or done) in the presence of the house cat!!