September 26, 2017
Before cat sanctuaries existed in New York City, one woman, in particular, may have been responsible for saving many kittens from the harshness of 19th-century city life. In the 1870s, a woman named Rosalie Goodman lived in a run-down home on Division Street on the Lower East Side. While she rented out most of the home’s bedrooms to tenants, she left two rooms for her family and her roughly 50 cats (h/t Ephemeral New York). In an article from 1878, the New York Tribune wrote, “Lying in the closets, on the tables, and under the stove, were cats of all descriptions. Some had broken limbs or missing eyes, the result probably of prowling around at night.”
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