Free Matilda!!

[LizzieMaine]

Those of you who may have stayed at the historic Algonquin Hotel in New York -- home of the Round Table, the Oak Room, and other Golden Era traditions -- will know one of the best traditions in the place, Matilda The Cat, an imperious feline who roams freely about the lobby interacting with the guests and otherwise enriching their visit. Or at least she did roam freely -- an item in this morning's paper tells us that the NYC Board of Health has required that Matilda be *leashed* behind the hotel desk rather than allowing her free range of the place, some rubbish about sanitation. I met the current Matilda's predecessor, a fine grey tabby, when I stayed at the Algonquin in 1997, and found her presence to be the best part of my visit. Like all cats she was fastidious, and if the condition of my bathroom was any indication, she was more so than a good percentage of the hotel staff.

There is no place more civilized that cannot be made more so by the presence of a cat. To leash a cat is an outrage under any circumstances, but to leash *this* cat is a sign of the worst kind of philistinism. Buckets of rotten fish to Mayor Bloomberg and his soulless minions. This never would have happened under LaGuardia's administration.

 

[LocktownDog]

What a ridiculous legislation! There can be trash on the streets, urine in the alleys, carbon monoxide from thousands of cars driving by ... but you can't let a cat walk around?

 

[C-dot]

"Thus do two more New York traditions fall victim to Health Commissioner Tom Farley’s food fascists."

That about sums it up.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

What a ridiculous legislation! There can be trash on the streets, urine in the alleys, carbon monoxide from thousands of cars driving by ... but you can't let a cat walk around?

It's precisely because they're apparently either unable or unwilling to tackle these more important issues. There must to be some kind of unwritten maxim within government whether it be federal, state or local that considers it far better to look as if they're doing something rather than actually accomplishing anything. Besides, it also protects their jobs and their budget.

In the case of NYC (practically a state within a state) it seems that in order to look as if they're "on the job" they have to pick on poor Matilda which follows another maxim of bureaucracy to always follow the path of least resistance (in this instance Matilda). I'll bet some bureaucrat over there is patting himself/herself on the back for a "job well done."

 

[Pompidou]

It's precisely because they're apparently either unable or unwilling to tackle these more important issues. There must to be some kind of unwritten maxim within government whether it be federal, state or local that considers it far better to look as if they're doing something rather than to actually accomplish something -- it also protects their jobs and their budgets.

In the case of NYC (practically a state within a state) it seems that in order to look as if they're "on the job" they have to pick on poor Matilda which follows another maxim of bureaucracy to always pursue the path of least resistance (Matilda). I'll bet some bureaucrat over there is patting himself/herself on the back for a "job well done."

Naturally. I, myself, have always asked, why should the government have laws against rape and theft when they can't even stop all the murders? When there's a more serious issue to be tackled, it's silly to tackle lesser ones just because we can.

EDIT: More to point, if the city has health codes regarding animals in public places, the right battle is getting those repealed. Fighting for an individual exemption on the basis of tradition doesn't seem right to me. To let every hotel have animals wandering the premises would be a more appropriate battle than fighting for this one cat. I'm not against it if it's universal.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A lot of New York hotels already have plenty of animals wandering around the premises. The differentiation is between "animals," and "pets." Now if someone wanted a pet rat wandering around the lobby, they might have a sanitation case to make, but a cat is another matter. As long as she isn't in a food-preparation area and isn't jumping up on the tables when guests are eating, what's the problem?

It's significant that, according to the papers, not a single complaint from the public has been received about Matilda -- and nobody loves to complain more than hotel guests, so you'd think if there was a problem someone would have said something by now. To me what it sounds like is someone didn't pass the graft along to the right person -- a green handshake usually makes problems like this go right away, but perhaps the manager there is new to New York and doesn't know how the game is played.

In any case, leashing a cat is barbaric. They might learn to accept it, but they certainly don't like it -- and have ways of making their displeasure known. Hopefully the health inspector is up on his tetanus shots.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Yup, hits the nail on the head, there.

"Thus do two more New York traditions fall victim to Health Commissioner Tom Farley’s food fascists."

That about sums it up.

I really think it's silly to be regulating things like this. Obviously, like Lizzie said, if the cat is jumping on tables and in food prep areas, that's unacceptable. If the cat is just roaming about and causing no harm to anyone, then what exactly is the harm?

 

[C-dot]

It's significant that, according to the papers, not a single complaint from the public has been received about Matilda -- and nobody loves to complain more than hotel guests, so you'd think if there was a problem someone would have said something by now.

Definitely. I might possibly be more inclined to understand this if there had been a lot of complaints received. Not that complaints automatically equal legitimacy, but it seems all the more senseless when there haven't been any.

 

[scotrace]

Another edict fromThe Committee of Concerned Citizens With Nothing Better to Do.

 

[Tomasso]

not a single complaint from the public has been received about Matilda

This incident may have influenced their decision

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

This incident may have influenced their decision

Sad commentary on life in the 21st century. Nine out of ten may not have a problem with something but the one who does carries more weight than the other nine.

 

[LizzieMaine]

You notice the cat hasn't retained a lawyer. They *eat* them instead.

 

[davidg]

In any case, leashing a cat is barbaric. They might learn to accept it, but they certainly don't like it -- and have ways of making their displeasure known. Hopefully the health inspector is up on his tetanus shots.

I wouldn't say its barbaric, barbaric would be forcing them to have the cat put down.. this is merely crude and stupid, and what would NY be without some crudity and stupidity? ;-)

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I was wondering if that was the reason for this.

This incident may have influenced their decision

 

[LizzieMaine]

The McSorley's Cat in action.

[video=youtube;dggU1xA0HGM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dggU1xA0HGM[/video]

Ferocious beast, indeed.

 

[lolly_loisides]

Awwww, but you know kitty cats, gorgeous one minute, treacherous the next..... (I love cats, but you have to earn their respect, and perhaps the woman deserved a bite/scratch).

 

[vitanola]

Sensible, can fix radios, Lovely, AND loves cats?

I'm smitten!

Miss Maine, If I were much younger I might make a pest of myself.

As it is, I shall continue to admire you from afar.

I hope you don't mind.

 

[rue]

"Thus do two more New York traditions fall victim to Health Commissioner Tom Farley’s food fascists."

That about sums it up.

Yes it does.

I hope those animal nazis don't come here..... almost all the bars allow you to bring in your pets and the restaurants that have patios do too.

 

[Tomasso]

I hope those animal nazis don't come here..... almost all the bars allow you to bring in your pets and the restaurants that have patios do too.

But don't they keep the jackalopes on leashes....

 

[W4ASZ]

We must be made safe whether any of us agrees or not !

I'm not surprised at this edict. After all, this is the same city whose police commissioner boasts that he has the capability to shoot down airliners.