Richard’s post flung her popularity everywhere.
“She was a star and she knew it,” he said. “She knew she was different and special.”
And this from a man who covered Madonna.
Richard retired from The Post in 2008. I’d dragged him to Motorkat, a brand-new restaurant called after the famous feline, to recollect.
The heading on his July 8, 1993, story was “Fur Out! It’s Motor Cat! The Claws Celebre Rides Again After Three Weeks as a Missing Purrson.”
Can you inform we utilized to truly like puns at The Post?
In a nutshell, the cat was quickly separated from her owner. Richard resided in Takoma Park — still does — and would see the man looking for her. When Motor Cat was found, Richard understood there was a happy ending — and he understood how he’d begin his story.
“Some ledes write themselves,” he said. His lede: “Motor Cat came back. They thought she was a goner.”
Just as enjoyable as the story were the images that James M. Thresher took of Motor Cat at speed. For almost a month, Richard said, those images were the most asked for by readers for reprints.
Despite the cat’s popularity, Motorkat’s co-owners, Chris Brown and Danny Wellssaid they were not delighted with the concept for the name.
“At first I was like, ‘I don’t want a cat-themed restaurant,’” said Chris.
“We originally wanted to do something that was not a direct Takoma Park reference,” said Danny. “We thought that had been done.”
Roscoe’s, a pizzeria 4 obstructs away, is called after a rooster that when strutted around Takoma Park. But the staff truly liked the tale of the cat, and after Richard’s 30-year-old post was circulated, the choice was made.
“Takoma is so close knit, and tapping into the energy of the late ’80s and early ’90s vibe was kind of the goal,” said Chris.
Though Motor Cat was related to Takoma Park, she in fact resided in Arlington with her owner, who passed the name J. Catman.
“I never did get his real name,” said Richard. (“I don’t want people beating my door down” is what Catman informed Richard in 1993.)
Catman was offered the cat — then called Greasy — in 1987 by a mechanic who had actually done poor deal with his car. From the start, the cat appeared various. She was consumed with revving engines, going to the window whenever a motorbike passed and being in front of the tv when bike racing was on.
One day, Catman left your house in his car just to be informed by another driver that there was a cat hanging onto the roofing. The cat — Greasy, quickly to be called Motor Cat — appeared to long for the feeling of speed. A motorbike appeared in some way much safer than a car.
“From there it kind of grew,” Richard said.
Catman discovered a business on the West Coast that had the ability to style a small bike helmet.
“They used to go on the Beltway,” Richard said. “J. Catman told funny stories about people screaming at him: ‘There’s a cat on your bike!’ I guess they didn’t notice the cat was wearing a helmet. That should have been a giveaway.”
Motor Cat passed away in 2002 at age 17. She’s buried in the family pet area of Rockville’s Parklawn Memorial Park. It was among the very first events Parklawn’s Paris Dombrowski manage. About 60 bikes rumbled as much as the tomb, she kept in mind.
“They were all bikers,” Paris informed me Monday when I went to Motor Cat’s tomb.
Engraved on the bronze plaque atop Motor Cat’s last resting location is what may pass as the daring cat’s slogan: “It’s my ambition to fly.”
