Mathilda's Absence Is Our Loss

The Algonquin cat (or more precisely, the Algonquin cat tradition) is no more. Mathilda the Third, has been banned from the Algonquin Hotel, and no other cat will be allowed to roam the hallways and lobby (and kitchen) of that famous hotel.

The reason given is "hygiene." But the New York Post writes that it is more to do with the fear of repercussions by Nanny Bloomberg:

Prodded by Nanny Bloomberg, the DOH [Department of Health] has been socking restaurants with steep fines for minor violations — and slapping dreaded “C” ratings on places where no one was known to get sick.

Some places are taking no chances, eliminating popular features before the DOH can strike them down. The party-pooping agency recently nudged Sardi’s to eliminate cheese snacks at its bar.

Now, thanks to a DOH “reminder,” poor Matilda is on a leash behind The Algonquin’s check-in desk, or out of sight on a higher floor.

The city’s favorite feline, a blue-eyed ragdoll, took up residence last winter. She’s the 10th Algonquin cat since Rusty, a k a Hamlet I, moved into the hotel, legendary home of the “Round Table” literary salon, in 1932.

Mathilda, and her followers, will now only be a memory in the long history of the Algonquin Hotel, like the famous Algonquin Round Table.

Culture, tradition, erudition, and even proud felines are being replaced by the bland, the boring and the lifeless.