HAPPY CATBLOGGING FRIDAY

ROOM EIGHT

Birth: 1952 Los AngelesLos Angeles CountyCalifornia, USA

Death: 1968 Los AngelesLos Angeles CountyCalifornia, USA

Feline was a rival to "The Swallows Return to Capistrano" - He was the unofficial mascot of Elysian Heights Elemetary School and came on the scene entering room no. 8 in 1952 through an open window and became a fixture for sixteen years. The cat was dubbed with the name "Room Eight" by the children. The cat would disappear all summer but the minute school started, he would appear. It was a waiting game which brought out newspaper and television camera's to watch for his arrival. This grey-and-white alley cat became the most famous feline in America. He posed for countless pictures and was emblazoned on all sorts of wearing apparel. He was the subject of a TV documentary called "Big Cats, Little Cats", and in 1966 an illustrated childrens book was published. A story in "My Weekly Reader" brought Room Eight 10,000 fan letters from children everwhere, some which included money to pay for his food. Upon his death in 1968, the children of Elysian Heights Elementary School took their mascot to The Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park and witnessed his interrment.