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Cats in New York: Meet Nicholas and his Human, “the Cat on the Head Guy”

We still have some posts about NYC kitties, and this one would have been welcomed before Christmas. Why? Because the kitty’s name is Nicholas, like, well, Saint Nicholas.

Nicholas and his human - NYC | Texas, a cat in... Austin

It was the first time that my human spotted Nicholas. She saw him and his human several times afterwards, Nicholas always comfortably sitting on his human’s head.

Apparently, Nicholas and his human have been walking NYC streets for several years, at least since 2008, Nicholas earning his human a dollar or two to have his picture taken. My human saw them back in 2012, in Tribeca.

According to a a 2008 NYT article, the human’s name is Charlie Perito and he started walking the streets of NYC with his cat on his head after losing his job:

Mr. Perito said he was just another victim of the recession and increasing joblessness, though he also admitted to problems with the law and addiction. A Staten Island native, he said he worked for years fixing air-conditioning and heating systems, but recently lost his job. So he taught Nicholas the balancing act and proceeded to use the gimmick to balance his budget.

Mr. Perito said it was not the first time around with the old “lose the job, train the cat” trick. He has lost other jobs and trained other cats before, he said. Anyway, Nick is pretty cute, and the whole thing looks pretty amusing, so Mr. Perito makes out pretty well.

According to a 2011 blog post here:

Charlie told me Nicholas is the THIRD cat that he has performed with, and that Nicholas loves being perched up there on the summit while watching all the happenings in New York City as they walk around town.

I asked him how did he start doing this and he told me how he was with his girlfriend one time and the original cat climbed up the chair where Charlie was sitting and rested on his head..He then found he could get up with the cat and walk around, so he took it to the streets of NYC.

This blogger also made a video in which you can see Nicholas climb on top of his human’s head:

My human said that Nicholas seemed not scared at all. He was just looking around him at what was going on. She wished she had had treats in her purse that day to give Nicholas (what?!?).

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48 thoughts on “Cats in New York: Meet Nicholas and his Human, “the Cat on the Head Guy””

  8. Chalut Texas,
    Je profite d’un moment pour venir voir mes quelques amis.
    Mon humaine a appris que la tienne arrêtait son blog ? C’est bien vrai ?
    Ce chat, j’ai difficile à croire qu’il peut garder un bel équilibre, mais, qu’est ce que la vue est belle de là haut :D
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  27. Wow that is really amazing; Nicholas was not the least bit scared. Thanks for sharing that with us. Love, Cali, Andy, Tater and Shelly (C.A.T.S)

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  40. Hi, our post with all the lovely awards from you will be coming out later today!

    That really is “The Cat on My Head.” We don’t think Misty May (our cat on the head) would let Mom do that. We are distressed that Nicolas’s dad is a smoker. All that smoke is surely wafting right up in front of Nic’s face. We certainly enjoyed your post, though.

    Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth (with nose kisses for Texas) and Calista Jo
    Kitties Blue recently posted…WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: CABIN FEVERMy Profile

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  48. Pingback: Caturday felids: Cat-on-the-head guy; a sad book about cats and a dying woman, if cats could text « Why Evolution Is True

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