Remember Eloise at the Plaza? The children’s book tells the story of precocious six-year old Eloise who lived at the Plaza Hotel in New York with her nanny and dog Weenie. The Algonquin, another New York landmark hotel, also is home to a lovely little girl. Matilda III is a charming four year old, but unlike Eloise, she’s a blue-eyed ragdoll cat.
Matilda III arrived at The Algonquin in January of this year. Her home at The Algonquin continues the hotel’s tradition of having a cat in residence that dates back to the late 1930s. Then a straggly stray, gray cat wandered through The Algonquin’s front door looking for food and shelter. Hotel owner Frank Case, whose reputation as the consummate host was legendary, welcomed the little stray, and a tradition was born.
Matilda III is a rescue cat
Matilda III assumed residency at the Algonquin when her predecessor Matilda II decided after 13 years that it was time to retire as the Hotel’s Algonqueen, the hotel explained in an official press announcement. Mathilda II, affectionately called Tilly, retired in style to a pre-war classic apartment in Brooklyn.
The 10th cat to live at The Algonquin, the latest Mathilda came from the hotel’s ‘pet charity,’ North Shore Animal League America. This lovely ragdoll, the same breed as Tilly, was a rescue cat residing at the Animal League’s facility in Port Washington, New York. She was abandoned in a box.
Matilda III has already proven to be the ideal candidate for the illustrious position. You can find her on her throne, a small chaise lounge located in the front of the hotel entrance. When’s she’s not there, she’s either napping behind the front desk computer, people watching by the luggage cart at the door or hiding from the paparazzi in the coat room.
You can connect with Matilda on her Facebook page (MatildatheAlgonquinCat) and on Twitter (@Algonqueen). She accepts emails from fans at matildaalgonquincat@algonquinhotel.com.
Have a story or news tip you'd like to share with Cats Examiner readers, email barbara@kohnpr.com.
Comments