The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-07-18
100 CATS GUARD
NEW YORK POLICE
Rats and Mice Routed by Val
liant representatives OF
Feline Tribe

(
police force Is the owner of more
than 100 cats, distributed among the
various station houses. where they
have their own police duty to per-
form. Il !. This consists OF Kidding the
houses of mice and rats.
Most OF the cats were contributed
by generous policemen. Others just
naturally strayed into the stations.
Were it not for the presence of these
cats, some of the station houses.
which are in the neighborhood OF
run by rats. Policemen who have
faced all kinds Of danger unfinching-
ly do not hesitate to say that 1t makes
them feel decidedly uncomfortable
to be awakened from their slumbers
by a rat who Is using the floor of the
ldormitory for playground, and that
tits mighty reassuring to be able to
drop OF to sleep with the knowledge
that the station house cat is faith
fully patrolling. al e
Smarter Than Other Cats. "
The station house cat. policemen
assert. possesses characteristics dis
tinctly different from thoe OF the
common houe cat or any other spec
Il les of the tiger family. For example,
he is sgiven to nocturnal prowlings.
He spends most of his time in the
station house, and when he does go
out into the night he does not stray
far. Most Of these cats, police lieuten.
ants, who have studied them, assert,
have a strong santipathy for an In
toixcated person, and when such
prisoner is brought into the station
the cats walk away in disgust In
stead of being called Tommy or
kitty they are usually addressed
gruf1y by the police as you and
.4Hey You.''
In the Morrisania police station
there is a beautiful white cat named
Peter He is the pride of the station
house and was born there five years
ago, when he was adopted by Lieuten-
ant Peter Brady, after whom he was
named. Peter has strong likes and
dislikes. His favorite resting place
is the top of the station house desk.
Peter Fayorite.
When lieutenant whom Peter dis
likes is on duty nothing Will induce
him to remain near the desk, but he
will seek far corner OF the station
Peter was great favorite with the
late Lieutenant Frank O'Rourke. W'nen
O'Rourke wanted his pet he would
blow a police whistle, which would
bring Peter to the station. There were
certain ieutenants that disliked Peter
as much as the cat disliked him. This
lieutenant went in the back room of
the station one night for few min
utes, leaving Peter in charge OF the
place. When the lieutenant returned
he found that the ink had been spilled
all over the pages of the hlotter. the
captain wanted to know how 1t had
happened and the lieutenant blamed
it on Peter,
Alexander Avenue Station. Many
names have been suggested for this
cat. but as the men have not been
able to agree on one they are now
conducting voting contest and the
lcat will be presented with the win
ming name. In the West One Hundred
| and Fifty-second street station there
lis a large cat, which spent his early
life in a butcher shop. He makes
daily visits to the butcher shops In
the nefghborhood, and when he is alb
sent and the police want to set him
on the trail of a mouse who Is disturb.
| ing their equanimity they know that
! he can be found at neighboring
butchers.
In a Brooklyn precinct there Is
battle SCARED cat named Gray Whis-
kers. Some time ago an old building
opposite the station house was beins
| torn down, and under cover OF night
regiment OF rats swarmed from the
! ruins into the station house. The
men in the dormitory were awakened
by the sound of many feet and saw
by the light from full moon that the
visitors were rats and that they were
being hotly pursued about the place
by Gray wh;skers, which was giving
| them no quarter. No count was kept
| of the number of rats which Gray
| whiskers dispatched, but those ne
failed to STAY he routed completely
fro mthe station house, so terrifying
them that, according to the police, no
rat since has had the temefity 70
show his nose in the place.
nTnnIr IMnpK