A tiny 4-month-old long-haired kitten became known as the legendary “Rally Cat” after running onto Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, during a baseball game on August 9, 2017. What followed was extraordinary, as one small feral kitten became a viral subject for Major League Baseball.
Here is a condensed version of Rally Cat’s story, followed by a wonderful update on where he is today.
After the cat’s surprise appearance on the field, 88,000 people watched as a young grounds crew member, Lucas Hackmann, ran to get the scared biting and scratching cat. From there, a bloodied Hackmann sat the cat down, and the cat wandered away from the stadium.
Minutes later, the cat’s random appearance was taken as an omen of good luck when the Cardinal’s Yadier Molina hit a grand slam. As a result, the team went on to victory against the Kansas City Royals. Now, the little cat would become famous, and so would the people around him, for better and worse.
“Had it happened in another city, in another sport, perhaps the kitten would have faded into a statistic, one of an estimated 70 million stray and feral cats wandering the United States. But baseball fans are a superstitious lot, especially in St. Louis. Ten years after the Cardinals won their last World Series, a portion of their fan base firmly believes it wouldn’t have happened without the Rally Squirrel that ran across home plate during the 2011 National League Division Series,” reported Elizabeth Merrill.
Interestingly, the squirrel ran right in front of home plate.
See the Rally Squirrel:
Everyone wanted to know more about Rally Cat after the Cardinals’ turn of events. The cat, on the other hand, was initially missing. Meanwhile, Lucas Hackmann was pushed into the limelight, earning the moniker “cat guy.” He became an immediate celebrity, appearing in the news, in a Conan O’Brien sketch, and as a Rally Cat bobblehead.
Although he volunteered to chase the cat, he didn’t anticipate the scared kitten’s reaction as he defended himself. Next, Hackmann went to the hospital to receive bandages for his hand. It’s quite similar to what we recently saw at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium when well-intentioned fans saved a cat at a football game.
As Jackson Galaxy put it, people seem to misunderstand cats.
“Let’s imagine if it was a dog on that field,” said Galaxy. “We would be able to read that dog, and understand their fear,” he said. “We wouldn’t be screaming, we wouldn’t be goading them on, we wouldn’t be laughing.”
Furthermore, he says, “We would feel sorry for that dog because we get dogs. We don’t get cats.”
See Hackmann from Bally Sports Midwest:
Many people may not have been interested in the small grey cat at first. However, he had been promoted to Rally Cat level and was the focus of a lot of media attention. Many Cardinals supporters considered the cat to be a lucky charm. As it turned out, the kitty had to wait a long time for good fortune to come his way.
Cardinal’s fan Korie Harris had witnessed Hackmann leave with the kitten. As a cat lover, she wanted to save the cat. So, she immediately rushed to find him, which she did.
“He was just in this corner on the ground,” Harris said, “and there were a couple of people standing around him. I was like, ‘Hey, that’s my cat; I’ll take him home because he’s really scared.’ At that point, I still don’t think Yadi had hit the home run. We just left right away.”
However, on the way there, Rally Cat escaped into a park. The next day, Harris says she received lots of unwanted attention from strangers and the news when the Cardinals issued a statement saying they intended to care for the now-famous cat, per ESPN.
That night, a group of women from St. Louis Feral Outreach arrived to find Rally Cat. Drawing on their TNR program know-how and experience, they were finally able to trap the kitten late that night safely.
The drama, however, had only just begun at that point. After a news conference about the cat, a custody struggle over the animal erupted in the media.
The crew now planned to organize a “Welcome Home” ceremony as well as a “Rally Cat Appreciation Day.” They also intended to keep the cat at the stadium, which alarmed the women. Suddenly, people were flocking from all over the world to get their hands on the famed feline.
Perhaps, the cat could live with one of the players in a home? Meanwhile, Rally Cat merchandise helped support the TNR programs.
From there, it turned into a “catfight” in the media. We won’t go into all the details here, but essentially, the women who found Rally Cat had to lawyer up.
On Facebook, STLFCO shared the news, saying they would put the kitten’s best interests first, just like any other cat.
“Although he is truly a special little guy, we are committed to treating him the same way we’d treat any cat – and that means putting his best interests first,” the group stated.
Likewise, prominent St. Louis lawyer Albert Watkins representing the women pro bono said:
“While he will always be a Redbirds fan, he has to think about his future as well,” Watkins said. “His working days in the playing fields of Busch Stadium appear to be over. … Much like any custody battle for children the world over, what’s important here is what’s in the best interests of the health and welfare of the cat.”
Thus, there was quite a battle over one little stray kitten.
In the end, Rally Cat stayed with the women, and the Cardinals donated to the STLFCO’s efforts. However, even now, the women still get requests to adopt the famous baseball cat. In some cases, baseball fans have offered cash up to thousands of dollars, to no avail.
Today, the group occasionally posts updates as Rally Cat is enjoying life as an ordinary house cat. However, he usually goes by the name of R.C., and his location still requires secrecy.
“Rally Cat update: R.C. is enjoying his retirement with his human sibling and kitty best friends. He is still a little shy around strangers, but he’s blossomed into a total lap cat with his family.”
According to ESPN, the cat’s owner says R.C. “likes lounging in his catio, is afraid of the vacuum, and occasionally sleeps on the back of one of the family dogs. He has dog-like tendencies and drools when he’s happy.”
“They call him R.C., but when he gets in trouble, he is sternly called by his full name. Rally Cat.”
“Rally Cat’s Retirement Update: Rally Cat is enjoying his retirement with his human sibling and feline closest buddies. He’s still a little nervous around strangers, but with his family, he’s turned into a lap cat.”
“ESPN looks back on the craziest time in FCO’s history, when we caught a famous cat, four years later.” Rally’s owners even sent us a photo of him as an adult cat to celebrate the event.”
Thus, the story has a happy ending for the cat, and his story remains a part of Major League Baseball lore. Even better, his story helped raise awareness for the efforts of the St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach. Despite the pandemic, the group helped over a thousand cats in 2020, they state on Facebook.
