Matilda

Matilda is the name borne by the resident cat of the Algonquin Hotel in Midtown Manhattan — the latest in a line of house cats that stretches back to the 1920s, when, as legend has it, a stray wandered in and was adopted by the staff. Ever since, the famous literary hotel (home of the celebrated Algonquin Round Table) has always kept a cat: the males are traditionally named Hamlet, after a cat once owned by actor John Barrymore, and the females Matilda. The current Matilda holds court in the lobby with the unbothered entitlement of true royalty, greeting guests, ignoring those beneath her notice, and enjoying her own daily routine among the hotel's antique furnishings. Over the years the Algonquin cats have become genuine celebrities — attending charity galas held in their honour, boasting their own email address for fan mail, and featuring in countless travel articles. Matilda embodies a wonderful hospitality tradition: the idea that a grand hotel is somehow made warmer, and a little more characterful, by the presence of a cat who plainly considers the whole establishment to be hers.