17/12/2025
In 1909, a man named Herman Gottlieb from New York gathered wild catnip and tried to sell it around Upper Manhattan.
As he walked along Fifth Avenue near East Harlem, the smell of catnip attracted neighborhood cats, which began to swarm around him and follow him closely. The number of cats grew to roughly 30 or 40, drawing the attention of onlookers as well.
A police sergeant arrested Gottlieb and took him to the station, followed by the cats and a crowd of curious people. At the station, the officers debated whether any laws applied to a “crowd” consisting of animals. In the end, Gottlieb was released and driven out of the precinct, while cats lingered around the station house.
